Into the Dark
by Utsuro
Summary: Arme has a rare sickness, only seen before in two other people. Both other patients have died. Nearing the predicted end of her life, will something happen to save her? Or will she be pulled further into the dark? ArmexLass RonanxElesis LirexRyan JinxAmy
1. Proluge

A/N: Yay for the prologue of the doomed little story I've been dying to write! Hopefully I can keep up the inspiration for this ^^

I don't own Grand Chase or any of their lovely characters! What I do have, however, is the ability to manipulate them as much as I want through the power of FAN FICTION!

Chapter 0: The Prologue

* * *

_Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock..._

The darkness was all-consuming,no trace of light to be seen. She didn't move: she'd stopped trying long ago. Trying to find an exit just brought pain. Trying to think caused pain... Everything caused pain. Limbs could be moved with no amount of coordination, nothing to hold her in place or to propel her further. Everything was trivial there, in the pitch black area. So she waited, and waited, a constant ticking reminding her of the world moving along outside the silent prison.

_Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock..._

Time goes by.

* * *

_"...Thr... eks?... Are you... ?" _The mumbling began, a whisper that grew louder and louder, seemingly grabbing at her. She closed her eyes as something finally made contact; a feeling of a heavy pressure covering her whole body. The pressure was good. The pressure meant she'd see the light soon. But the pressure also meant she'd have to deal with them again. Them, their question... Everything she didn't want to deal with. The consuming pressure finally reached her eyes, bringing with it a blinding light. The ticking was slowly fading, though a rhythmical beating was taking its place. She was calm, knowing soon she would be able to move.

_Soon. Soon. Please, don't make me wait! I don't know how much longer I can take this!_

And then her eyes were open to the florescent bright ceiling lights and pristine white sheets, the familiar beeping coming from the machine next to her. The girl breathed a sigh.

This was good.

This was familiar.

Most of all, this wasn't painful. Feeling lighter, she stretched her arms as much as she could, taking in the sickly colour of her skin contrasted against the bed sheets. She couldn't remember how bad it had been last time, but she was fairly certain it was worse then. Raising her head and brushing back some deep violet locks from her eyes, she took in the room. Her brows furrowed. _Have I been moved?_

The answer was yes, and it was made quite apparent when a small doctor with black hair entered her room from the door that led into a room with a large observation. She had watched with interest for a few moments as he walked around making changes on her white wall board, and was almost disappointed when he only noticed she was awake as he was checked the unusually speedy heart monitor.

"Arme! You're awake!" The man exclaimed, giving her a quick look over. She averted her eyes to avoid his close scrutiny, playing with her hands quietly.

"Well..." The doctor spoke awkwardly, "I'm sure you've noticed by now that this isn't the Cadenza Private Hospital. Welcome to the Heart Foundation Hospital! You've been transferred here because... well, I'm sure you know why. But rest assured! We have the best team of doctors on the face of the planet working on your case right now." At this the man leaned in closer.

"You must trust us, Arme. No one here will let you die. We're doing everything in our power, so just hang in there, alright?" The doctor seemed rather serious, and Arme simply nodded, praying it was true, though she knew full well the most likely result of her condition. Still... her thought were cut short as black dots swarmed into her vision, threatening to overtake her sight entirely. She reached to the bedside for the pill case she knew would be there, and quickly ate them before turning to the black-haired man again.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions while we wait for your mother to make her daily visit, okay?" Another nod. Arme watched the man write a small note at the top of the clipboard, then pull over the navy chair that rested in the corner of her room.

"Arme, I noticed you took your pills right away. Are you feeling drowsy now?"

"No... Well, a little." Arme mumbled, pulling at the edge of her sage green hospital top.

"I see. And did you feel any pain while you were asleep?"

"No." This was a lie, but she didn't need them telling her mother she was in pain when she was unconscious, so she simply bit her lip, the grip tightening on her top. The doctor's brows furrowed at this answer, and he jotted down a note longer than the previous.

"All right, then. Were there any times you gained consciousness during your rest?" _Rest?_ She mentally laughed at how simple and peaceful it sounded. If only he knew.

" As usual, no."

"And I've read in your file that when you're unconscious you don't feel like you're asleep? More like you've been trapped in a dark room?" Another sigh, another nod. _Are the questions going to be over soon...? _ She doubted it. All she could hope was that her mother arrived soon.

"You're sure nothing happened? Nothing that felt like a dream?"

"No..." Why did it matter?

"And Arme?"

"... Yes?"

"Do you realize how long your unconsciousness lasted this time?" Arme blinked at this question. If they were asking, surely it wasn't good. She had felt like she was in the darkness forever, but it felt like that every time_. Every... single... time._

After a moment, the answer was a definite 'No.' The doctor frowned.

"Arme, you missed your fifteenth birthday." Her eyes widened as she did the calculations. She had been praying she wouldn't up till the day she had fainted, and if she had missed it...

"I've been asleep for two weeks!" Was the astonished answer. The doctor shook his head.

"No, Arme. Your birthday was exactly one week ago. You've been asleep for three weeks, by far the longest lapse you've had. I hate to say it, but the data is getting frighteningly close to that of the previous patients." She stared at him, wondering what exactly happened to the '_You must trust us, Arme. No one here will let you die_' mindset. _You might as well be telling me I'm going to die._

"There's still time... right?" The doctor nodded.

"Yes."

"How long will it be until my next checkup?" Her violet eyes looked up uncertainly, not at all certain she wanted to know the answer. The doctor quite obviously didn't want to give her the answer either, judging by the way be stood up and began to pace the small room back and forth. Finally he turned to look at her.

"You see Arme, here's the thing. You're going to be staying at the hospital for a while." The purple haired girl stared blatantly at him until she finally understood that he wasn't joking.

"W-What? No! I can't even go home? What about school?" Placing the clipboard on the desk a fair way away, he refused to turn back and look at her.

"Arme, at this point of your... condition, it's dangerous if you leave. We can no longer be certain about when the lapses will occur, and our information shows that your conscious time is going to rapidly decrease. If we release you, there's a high chance you'll pass out in the middle of a public area." _No way... _Realizing she lacked the power to do anything else, Arme resorted to glaring at the back of his head.

"Can't I go home? I'll rest there!" The last thing she wanted was to be surrounded by doctors in the overly white room under a bright light as she took her final breath.

"Arme, we already have permission from your mother. You're staying here."

"B-but-!" This was cut off by a loud knocking at the door. Through the observational window Arme's mother could be seen banging on the door, frantically yelling something at the sound-proof entrance. Once the door opened she flew in at an amazing speed, her long violet hair flying out behind her as she took a spot next to her daughter.

"Arme! Oh, Arme, sweetie! How do you feel?" Such a generic question, but Arme put up with it, seeing the genuine concern on her mother's face. She put a smile on her face before answering.

" I'm fine, Mom! I always feel a lot better after I wake up, you know that." Her mother gave a relieved sigh and placed a hand on Arme's bed sheet, near her hand. When she lifted it a small box was in it's place, wrapped perfectly, a bow sitting on the top in perfect form, so like her perfectionist mother.

"I know how much you were looking forward to it, but... Well, happy birthday, Arme!" Her mother smiled, eyes sparkling as she watched her daughter. Without much hesitation Arme undid the bow and took off the wrapping neatly (a habit she had picked up from her mother). A velvet packet was left, which was opened to reveal a small necklace with two shimmering purple stones on it. The design reminded her somewhat of a lynx, edged with a silver frame and intricate gold swirls, fine tufts of silver shooting off the two ears, and the two small gems shining up at her like eyes.

"They're tourmaline gems, Arme. Some of the most beautiful gems in the world. I want you to have it, and remember that even when you're in the hospital you're still free. You'll never be entirely locked up. For you, there will always be a way out. Just look at this some days and know that your father and I are supporting you every step of the way." A grin slowly appeared on Arme's face as the clasp was done up on the chain, the gold and silver alternating links pressed softly against her neck, cooling her.

_Thank you... Thank you so much... _She lifted her head and looked at her mother, the smile still on her face.

"We love you, Arme." It was to this that Arme opened her mouth to form a reply.

"I-" And the black dots were swarming into her vision, threatening to black out everything all over again. _N-No! Not again!_ Arme reached out frantically for the side of her bed, her hand grabbing the pill case only to realize it was already empty. _No, no, no, no, no!_

"NO!"

And everything was gone.


	2. Darkness Destroyed

A/N: This is the first chapter of in the dark! :D Yay me! I hope you enjoy the story, I worked on it for a fair bit ^^

I don't own Grand Chase or any of their lovely characters! What I do have, however, is the ability to manipulate them as much as I want through the power of FAN FICTION!

Chapter Two: Darkness Destroyed

* * *

_Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock..._

Time goes by.

Slowly, amethyst eyes made a daring attempt to open. Seas of black were still the only sight to greet, bringing with them waves of despair. _For you, there will always be a way out. For you, there will always be a way out. For you, there will always be a way..._

"THERE IS NO WAY!" Arme cried loudly into the endless darkness. _No way, no way, no way._ The echoing only served a blatant reminder of how alone she was, the ticking always there to remind her that somewhere outside her living hell was life. Life that she wasn't ever going to have. But... _For you, there will always be a way out. _

For the first time in years limbs moved through the darkness, fighting the pain that came in the form of short pulses.

"I know it's here, it has to be! Where is it?" A desperate edge had taken to her voice as her arms waved out in front of her haphazardly.

"Where's my way out?" Her energy was draining, falling as quickly as the tears that began to cascade down her cheeks silently. Still, she kept a grip on her hope, the first glimmer of light she had seen in years in the dark, pointless place. _L-Light? _She had simply been thinking it, but it began to flood her vision, as though something were glowing in the far off distance. _Do I really want to go to it? _She remembered with a sarcastic chuckle all of the warnings about 'if you see a tunnel with a white light at the end, don't go towards the light', yet there was simply nothing else to do. Nothing else to lose, everything to gain.

Arme's speed increased as she neared the source of the light, a small glimmering ball in the midst of the black. With hope shining in her heart then more than ever, she closed her eyes and lunged at the center of the new brightness.

* * *

She winced as her body collided with something extremely hard and cold. Something with... Substance? She bewilderedly opened her eyes to see the first solid object she had felt since entering the darkness, and when she opened her eyes her mouth gaped open in shock. She wasn't in the darkness. She wasn't in the darkness at all.

Arme had, in fact, landed upon a cold grey stone floor. Eyes widening, she blinked uncertainly before sitting up slightly, her legs on either side of her body. She was in a rather small, shack-like room, long boards of greyish wood sufficing for walls. It wasn't a very well put together shack, either; she could feel an extremely cold draft coming through the holes in the wall and the rather large gap between the bottom of the door and the floor. In the right corner next to the door was a kitchen-like area: a dirty white stove and counters with several shelves above, a fridge strangely absent and making the kitchen seem rather bare. On the other side of the door was a plain bed with a thin sheet over top and a metal frame, looking not at all comfortable. Other than that, she concluded, the room was rather empty. there was a bedside table with nothing on it, and a bag laying near the foot of the bed.

Hesitantly, Arme stood up and stretched out her legs. She was still in the sickening green hospital top and pants, but nothing else from when she was awake was present. There were no IVs, heart monitors, no fussing doctors, no blindingly white lights and even the regular pain of moving her limbs was absent. _I'm... dreaming?_ The thought seemed absurd to her, as she had never dreamed, not even before she was admitted to the hospital. It was an entirely new concept to her. A source of inspiration came to the purple haired girl from the multiple television shows she had watched, and she almost laughed at herself as she brought a hand to her arm and pinched her skin, hard.

"Ouch!" Arme muttered quietly, noting the red mark that was beginning to appear on her skin. There was definitely pain, but judging by her surroundings, it didn't mean a thing. There was no way it was reality... She sighed and decided to continue investigating the room, looking around warily. Her first instinct was to check the bed. She sat down on it carefully, noting that it was, in fact, less comfortable than it looked. The search of the kitchen didn't turn up much either, though it did remind her of her growing hunger.

Abandoning all caution, Arme reached into the cupboard and pulled out the first thing she could find. She pulled out a can of chicken noodle soup and only stared at it for a moment before rummaging through to grab herself a pot.

Once the soup was simmering and the little voice inside her head that said maybe it **wasn't **a good idea to be in someone else's shack, eating their potentially poisoned soup was silenced Arme's attention was brought to the wall at the back of the shack. As she approached it her eyebrows furrowed, and she stared in concentration. There were large gouges in the wall that appeared to have been made by either claws or possibly a knife of some sort leading rather deep into the wood, some peeking through to the outside and adding less warmth to the small area. Her fingers ran along the groove, not certain exactly what she was looking for, and also not certain why she hadn't turned, grabbed her pot of soup, and ran as fast as she could away from the place. Whoever or whatever made the marks could most likely and would most likely hurt her, she reasoned. Not only was she breaking and entering, she was also stealing their food. On the other hand the marks could have been entirely accidental, though she couldn't imagine someone swinging around a knife with that much force accidentally.

All thought processes were cut short when she found herself rather abruptly forced up against the cold wood wall, her hands pinned against her back and the knife that most likely made the grooves on the wall pressed up against her neck. There was a small flicker of an almost white colour in her peripheral vision, and she felt a warm breath near her ear.

'Who the hell are you?"

For a moment the purple haired girl was stupefied, not at all certain what was going on and very conscious that her life was being threatened by the metal that was pressing even more harshly against her neck. Before she could control it she was crying loudly, and she could hear herself speak.

"I'm sorry I stole your soup!" _I'm sorry I stole your soup? Nice, Arme. Real nice. _She mentally cursed herself, taking in her own words and realizing just how pathetic they sounded. The grip on her wrists loosened slightly however, and the blade against her neck stopped digging in quite so threateningly. She felt the weight of the person's body shift against her own slightly, not backing off quite enough for her to escape and make a run for it, though she doubted she would make it even if given a chance. After all, the stranger had entered entirely silently. For a moment there was no speaking, and Arme could feel her heart beating fiercely in her chest.

"My... Soup?" The voice questioned frustratedly, further away from her ear. She was fairly certain now that it was a male speaking, though that fact didn't make anything easier.

"Oh. Oh! No, I don't care about the soup! What are you doing here, and who are you?" _Who am I, who am I? _Everything was collapsing in on her under the stress, and she would have fallen to the floor if not for the person supporting her body against the wall.

"My name? I'm... A-Arme... I just... I don't know! I was there, and I just wanted a way out, and I... I just don't know!" She felt her body falling against the ground as the blade was removed from her neck, though her wrists were still pinned behind her. She then began spluttering loudly as she felt a hand checking through her pockets.

"W-What are you doing? Stop it!" She cried, moving in an honest attempt to set her arms free and failing miserably.

"Stop struggling, I'm checking you for weapons. And you're **really** not in a place to be making demands here." The person said frustratedly. Arme calmed down slightly and allowed her pockets to be rummaged, her head hanging towards the floor as her tears finally began to subside along with her fear. When after a few moments the person had checked through all her pockets and confirmed that she didn't have anything even remotely similar to a weapon he released her entirely, apparently having lost all interest as she listened to his receding footsteps on the ground.

_How... How can he be so quiet? If I wasn't listening, there's no way I'd be able to hear him. _When she no longer heard footsteps Arme burst up from her spot on the floor, worried her only source for answers would walk away. She turned quickly to see a rather thin. roughly teenaged boy standing over the neglected soup pot, his short silver hair framing his face and hiding his eyes from her view. He wore a blue colour themed outfit, and she now realized the weapon she had been threatened with had been a dagger, as two daggers with spikes around their handles and stars on the blades lay on the counter. She took a few cautious steps towards him as he continued to stir the soup, all but ignoring her.

As she went to speak he reached up into the cupboard, pulling down two bowls and placing them on the counter. He poured the soup into the bowls and grabbed two spoons from one of the drawers below the counter. He placed the spoons in either before turning towards her with a bowl of soup in each hand. The silver haired boy stared at her oddly for a couple seconds until she realized she had been staring, her mouth ever so slightly open as though she was planning on speaking. No words came out however, and she simply accepted the bowl he was offering her gratefully. He took a seat on the bed and crossed his legs before eating, still staring at her somewhat curiously. She hesitantly followed his example and sat on the bed, her legs hanging off the side and her toes barely touching the ground.

They ate in silence, Arme finishing her bowl quickly and staring down at it. She was unsure of how to start a conversation, so she walked quietly over to the counter where the sink was, rinsing off her bowl and leaving it there to turn and look at the boy still sitting on the bed. As she leaned on the counter she realized he wasn't actually eating, his eyes closed and making him appear as though he had almost fallen asleep. He suddenly an eye lazily to look at her, his stare boring into her eyes as he waited. When she noticed he was waiting for her to start speaking she took in a deep breath, not certain where to start.

"... Where am I, and who are you?" She questioned. He placed his bowl to the side and stood up, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall near the head of the bed.

"Well, if you got here, I'm sure you can figure out where you are. And aside from that, I really feel no incentive to tell you my name." He stated, causing Arme to glare at him.

"Hey! I didn't ask to show up here, I was just trying to get out of there! Besides, I told you my name, so you have to tell me yours! It's only fair." She said stubbornly. Before she could blink he was next to her, and that was the first moment she realized how truly **blue** his eyes were. This was followed by the realization that he was also chuckling disbelievingly at her, so she huffed and turned the other way.

"Fair? You do realize not everything's fair in the world, right?" She noticed his skeptical gaze from the corner of her eyes, "And you 'didn't ask' to trespass into my house? I'd like to hear how that happened." She turned to him with full intent to tell him to stop being unreasonable, but before the words left her mouth she realized how little she could explain. _I can't tell you how I got here because I fell in here from some extremely dark room and no you can't go there because it's not there anymore? _She sighed and shook her head.

"...Bermesiah."

"Huh?" She turned to look at him fully, wondering what exactly he had said. "Your name?"

"Wah- No, moron, where we are! We're in the Bermesiah continent. I already told you I'm not telling you my name." _Bermesiah... Bermesiah... _No matter how hard Arme thought, the name wouldn't place itself.

"I'm not a moron! There is no Berme-" She had barely realized him reaching over, and slowly realized he had covered her mouth with his hand and was reaching over to grab his blades from the counter. Arme began to make a muffled noise and pull at the hand covering her mouth, though he quickly leaned near her.

"Don't make a sound." He hissed, walking them both over to the door. With a slight push it creaked open silently, and the silver haired teen peered out.

"Damn it!" He cursed. Giving her a look that was clearly to remind her not to speak, he released her and walked over to the bed. He came back to the door with the bag she had spotted earlier just as she was about to look out the door.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He said warily as he went through the cupboards grabbing random cans of food.

"Where's your weapon?" He asked suddenly, turning towards her. "There's no way you got here without one."

"Weapon?" The purple haired girl asked, "Why?" The boy stared at her for a couple of moments confusedly.

"Yeah, what are you? An archer, swordsman, knight..." He trailed off at her blank look, then quickly looked out through a hole in the door. He muttered another curse under his breath then looked back at her.

"Look, just stay where I leave you, alright? **Do not** try to run away or fight anything on your own." Before Arme had a chance to question anything he was saying he had grabbed her arm and flung the door open. Any words she had died in her throat.

In front of them lay a sea of purple, machine-like monsters, all approaching at a rather rapid rate.

"Anmon soldiers..." He muttered, letting go of her arm in favour of holding both of his daggers in separate hands. With about fifteen meters between them and the nearest monster he leaped forward, cleanly slicing one's head off and jabbing another in the back. The purple eyed girl stared at the fight as it occurred, hands in front of her as she tried to deny the overwhelming impulse to run back into the small shack and slam the door, though she realized it would most likely be more dangerous if she couldn't see where the monsters were coming from. Arme had to refrain several times from yelling out as the silver haired boy was attacked from behind, pivoting just in time to avoid a blow. Finally, she just squeezed her eyes shut.

Everything... Everything that was going on was a dream, right? She kept repeating it over and over in her head. _It's a dream, It's a dream, It's a dream... If it's a dream, then why does it feel so REAL!_ She pressed her hands to the side of her head as pain threatened to overtake her, her knees buckling slightly but still managing to hold her up. She looked up just in time to see the boy get slashed in his side. He winced lightly and jumped back, launching into the air and yelling something she couldn't hear from how far away she was. Blue slashes appeared from his weapons, cutting apart many of the enemies below. As he did this, Arme realized that the number of enemies didn't seem to be decreasing. Then, another thought came to her. _He could probably get away from here pretty easily with his speed... He's only fighting right now because I can't._ As she watched him, she noticed his eyes flitting over to her every couple of seconds, often getting him close to injured.

_I can't... I can't DO anything! _ She thought, watching the fight. The purple machines were getting closer, and Arme subconsciously reached up. Her hand wrapped around her necklace, and her eyes widened. _I can't just... Die here!_ The loud, clanking sounds were getting closer and closer. As determined as she was, when she looked at the enemies she stopped moving entirely. Her entire body paralyzed in fear, she noticed immediately when a calming feeling surrounded her. She closed her eyes again, regardless of how many enemies were nearby. _It's just... Such a peaceful feeling..._ She thought idly. _Like my body is being filled with energy..._

"**Arme! Move!**" She heard the yell too late. When her eyes snapped open an enemy was reaching back its sharp, pointed arm, quite obviously aiming at her. There was no time to move. Looking over at the silver haired boy, she realized he couldn't get out of his fight fast enough to get to her either. _No! Someone! Someone, please! Save me!_

"No!" She fell to her knees, her hands over her head as she waited for the impact. And waited. And waited.

"Huh?" Her eyes carefully opened spotting the monster that seemed to have been propelled back slightly. The second thing she noticed was the green orb-like object surrounding her. Uncertain, Arme looked over at the boy, who seemed just as confused as her. _I'm in a shield?_ Was the first thought she had that made sense considering the events. The enemies seemed to also have caught onto that she couldn't be touched, as they all swarmed the silver haired boy. _There are too many! They all need to go!_ Her thoughts became more desperate as she watched him get another cut on his arm, his movements becoming less and less speedy. _Come on, Arme! Think strong! Think powerful! Think..._

"METEOR!" The word came almost of it's own accord, and the girl stared up at the sky. For a moment, all was silent. Then, all of a sudden, the air around Arme became extremely warm, and she realized that the large chunks of rock were in fact falling, large firey balls that were crushing several enemies at a time. But... Arme began to look around frantically.

"Hey! Where are you!" She yelled as loudly as she could over the roar of the falling meteors, unable to spot a flash of silver anywhere on the battlefield. She blinked several times as she looked, but nothing changed and the fiery rain continued until every last enemy had been obliterated. The meteors had seemingly disappeared, the grass not at all charred and the only remnants of her attack the broken pieces all around. No silver in sight.

"Oh god. I crushed him with a meteor." Arme said disbelievingly, falling to her knees. _I can't have, right? That's... not possible._ But no matter how hard she looked she couldn't spot him. She closed her eyes tight.

"A mage, huh?" Arme's eyes sprung open and she turned around to find the boy kneeling behind her, within the protection of the green shield. He stood up and brushed off his pants, ignoring Arme as she stared at him with wide eyes.

"You..."

"Lass." He was no longer facing her, his bag slung across his shoulder as he stood in place, "My name. It's Lass." Arme slowly got to her feet and looked at him.

"Where to now?" He turned around and looked at her incredulously.

"Huh? You're following me?" Arme nodded her head, rolling her eyes as though it was obvious.

"If there's anyone around here I'm gonna trust to explain to me what's going on, it'll be you." She stated, brushing herself off and getting up to stand next to him. Contemplating this for a moment, Lass sighed and smirked.

"Well, we've never had a mage around before. Maybe you'll be useful." _Huh?_

"We?" The silver haired boy nodded. "Yeah. You'll see." He turned to look at her.

"If, that is. You can catch up with me!" Arme watched helplessly as Lass began running across the field, and then began chasing after him futily.

"LASS!"

* * *

A/N: Well, that was the first chapter o.o Not exactly as planned, but oh well! It works! This won't really have a scheduled update, just a 'when I have time'. Remember, reviews make everyone happy! :D So see the little green button down there? Virtual cookies go to whoever clicks it _

-Utsuro


	3. A New Light

A/N: I'm really not sure what's going to happen in this chapter, This story is very pachily planned out D:

As usual, I don't own grand chase D': Or characters involved in it ):

Chapter 2: A New Light

* * *

"L-Lass!!! Slow down! Please!!" Arme yelled raggedly, her breathing laboured as she attempted to close the distance between the two. They had been running for at least half an hour, she decided. And the worst part was that not only was she failing at catching up to the boy, she knew Lass wasn't going at his full speed.

"Lass!!!" She called again feebly, no longer looking where she was going. Somewhere along the line her foot had caught on a rock, sending her tumbling to the ground in a heap as she refused to get up again. To avoid getting dirt in her eyes she closed them and began listening. Her legs were aching, and her entire body felt as though she had been stretching for far too long. The ground was all too quickly becoming less cold and rough, and beginning to feel more and more like something comparable to a bed. Though she kept telling herself not to, she knew she was falling asleep. The last thing she heard before going unconscious were soft, barely noticeable footsteps coming closer.

* * *

Lass sighed as he stared at the unconscious girl at his feet. Fully aware he couldn't leave her in the middle of a field in her condition, he kneeled down next to her, not quite sure how to pick her up. Finally he managed to juggle her light figure onto his back, standing up rather unbalancedly. Once he was rather sure she wasn't about to fall off, Lass began a slightly slower pace as he continued on to the village.

A mage... As he ran, the silver haired boy shook his head. They had been in a pretty dangerous spot before, and he hadn't been sure how much longer he would be able to hold off the enemies, not even entirely sure that he should. For all he knew, she could be a spy for Kaze 'Aze... He glanced at Arme's head resting on his shoulder and knew it couldn't be the case. No matter the situation, it would be more than foolhardy to send a spy into enemy territory without a weapon, even a concealed weapon. She had seemed confused and upset as he checked her for weapons, not apprehensive that he might find something.

The anmon soldiers hadn't avoided attacking her either, as they would have if she was a part of Kaze 'Aze's group. Furthermore, she most certainly wasn't posessed. He highly doubted the first thing Kaze 'Aze would have done upon finding a hideout of one of the Grand Chase would be to steal their food.

The girl just seemed truely and utterly lost. Not much survival instinct in her, though he had to admit he was impressed by the meteor shower she had created, no matter how accidental it was. To summon something that powerful on the first try seemed almost unreal... Almost like... Immediately, Lass stopped running. _N-no... Not that..._ He looked at her again, her oddly coloured hair blowing softly despite the rising winds.

_Hey! I didn't ask to show up here, I was just trying to get out of there! _... _I was there, and I just wanted a way out, and I... I just don't know!!!_ It... It fit. Really well. But... If that was the case... Cursing, Lass started to run again. If that really was happening again, the best thing to do would be to consult **them**. Though it would also mean he'd be seeing Arme a fair amount. _It's... really happening again. _His speed increased as he headed towards his destination, praying he would be proven wrong.

* * *

"Nnhh...?" Arme mumbled as she woke up. She quite suddenly remembered falling onto the ground and falling asleep, Lass disappearing into the distance. If she had fell asleep on the ground, then why was it so comfortable?! And more importantly, why was it swaying? She opened her eyes to much different scenery than she had fallen asleep to, a small town being visible on the horizon. Trying to stretch her arms and legs out, Arme also came to the sudden realization that not only was she moving closer to the town at an impressive rate, she was also no longer on the ground. Turning her head slightly allowed her the view of short silver hair that was both short and the same colour as Lass'...

"Lass!" She exclaimed, and the boy turned his head to look at her in acknowledgement before turning back to the town without saying anything.

"You brought me with you?" She questioned quietly. The town was now only around a meter away, and Lass stopped quite suddenly outside the entrance. As he knelt down so she could get off his back, he turned to look at her.

"You honestly thought I'd leave you in that field? You'd have died." Arme opened her mouth to retaliate to the rather blatant statement, then closed it again. It was probably true, she decided. In a land filled with dangerous monsters and no way to defend herself, she didn't know how long she would survive, even if it was only a dream. _Mage... _Well, Lass had said she was one, and from what she knew and had experienced they were people who casted spells. _'METEOR!' _Powerful ones at that. She could vividly remember the feeling flowing through her, calming like a river of energy slowly flowing out of her. It had felt so... empowering. She had always been weak in the world outside this dream, forced to lie down and stay put, never playing with the other children. It was even under very precarious situations that she was allowed to go to school...

"Hello?"

"Huh?" Arme's head shot up and she noticed Lass staring at her. She had quite obviously been distracted for more than a couple seconds. Brushing off her pants, she stood up and looked at the large stone arch announcing the entrance. Lass sighed at her obvious lack of concentration and then walked in front of her, taking the lead once again.

"So... Where are we going again?" She asked after a moment. Lass didn't stop walking or even turn to look at her, so she figured she was being ignored and began to look around. The buildings were all made of stone and wood, looking a rather large contrast to the brick houses she was used to. Once she got an even better look around, Arme began realizing just how medieval the town looked. _A more apt description would probably be 'village'..._ She thought. The next thing she noticed was that weapons were by no way against the law. Everyone she spotted had some obvious weapon with them, most carrying rather obvious swords, others with bows, staffs, axes, and plenty of weapons she didn't have a name for. A few minutes passed and the streets were thinning out with people, the area becoming darker. _Nightfall already? _She wondered. It was then that the rain began to fall down on the pair. Within moments Lass had grabbed her arm, and the two soaked people were running through the streets in an attempt to get somewhere drier.

They finally stopped a few seconds later, Arme not noticing and running into Lass' back. Once she had backed up Arme realized they were not in front of a house, as she had somewhat been expecting, but a store. The front sign was written in a foreign language, and there were various items hung in the front window, none really hinting at what the store sold. The door was flung open and they both hustled in, Arme peering around the dimly lit shop. The shop was only lit by a few subtle candles, the shelves hardly distinguished against the dark walls. Several necklaces hung from pegs on the wall, and rows upon rolls of scrolls were stored in the shelf next to it. She could make out an outline of an extremely large sword on the wall, and several outfits folded into the box-like metal container that was pressed against the wall. Strangely, she could almost swear she could hear some rather odd noises coming from the little side room that didn't have a sign hanging on it, leaving her to wonder what exactly was there.

"W-What are we here for?" She stuttered, her teeth chattering loudly. The thin outfit she had been given in the hospital was in no way suited for the outside world, let alone rain. It took her a moment to realize Lass was no longer next to her; she could spot his silver hair over by the odd metal box. He turned to look at her, and motioned for her to come over once he realized she wasn't going to be moving on her own.

"Choose something you like." He murmured quietly, motioning to the piles of clothes inside the bin, "Your outfit isn't exactly battle appropriate." Arme huffed, noting that though she had already realized that it felt odd for someone else to be scolding her on her clothes. Shifting some of the top outfits she came across a purple outfit with a white skirt and large white frills on the neck, a pair of gloves with a gold stripe near the rim folded ontop of the gem-like stone on the front of the shirt. She lifted the outfit out of the bin slightly to inspect it even more when she felt Lass hovering over her.

"Nice outfit." He commented, causing Arme to almost put down the clothes, though she kept her grip on them. "Unfortunately for you, they're the Battle Mage's equipment. They can only be worn by mages who have been certified by the leader of the violet mage guild to be the most powerful in all of Bermesiah. Good luck with that." Her eyes widened and she hastily attempted to drop it into the bin again, but Lass snatched it from her before she could.

"I have to return this to the front, it shouldn't have been there in the first place. Come find me when you're done choosing." He turned and headed down one of the nearest isles, leaving her with the bin of clothes. As she pushed outfits aside she came across several that were nice, in varying colours. When she was about to pull out a red outfit her hand grazed across a gem and she stopped. There was a sleeveless dress-like outfit with a fist-sized amethyst gem on the front, the colour scheme of a lighter purple than the other outfit she had picked up, looking almost like a bathing suit until the waist of the outfit, where it changed into pants and a half-skirt going around the back half of it. There were large cuffed gloves folded neatly on top, gold streaks on the edges and a pattern throughout the cuff. she picked it up cautiously, wondering if she should perhaps take a look for something like a 'Warning-You'reanoobsodon'ttouchthis' tag on it, but none was attached so she hoped it was alright.

Making sure it was all together she attempted to spot Lass, but the isles were too high for her to see him. She resorted to wandering down the isles, looking at the various merchandise on the shelves. There were some scrolls with odd symbols on them and random dolls sitting in a line. One stuck out to her, a female with two pink pigtails holding two circle shaped weapons. The tag was also in another language, frustrating her to no end. She picked up the doll and continued on in her search to find the silver-haired boy.

Another isle she reached had rows and rows of glass containers with fancy looking bottles filled with oddly coloured liquids. There were boxes of strange foods, and a row of discs with a recognizable symbol on them, a large letter B. When she reached the next isle she realized she was at the left wall of the shop where the large weapons were, precariously hanging from the wall. She was about to turn around and check the other half of the shop when she noticed Lass at the end of the isle, observing the necklaces she had noted earlier. Arme walked up to him quietly, and he turned to acknowledge her presence, then back to the necklace. Not feeling particularly like being ignored, Arme decided to take action.

"Hey! What does this say!?" She questioned, shoving the pink haired doll in his face. He turned to look at her questioningly, and then his expression changed abruptly when he noticed what she had been asking about it. He looked almost like he was about to burst into laughter, and he put his face in his hand for a second to stifle the chuckles that were arising.

"Oh god... Amy's gonna love this one." He sighed as he grabbed the doll from her. She was going to demand again what he meant, but he then flipped open the small tag and began to read aloud.

"Have your very own Super Star Amy, the amazing dancer of the Xenia continent! Each purchase goes towards helping starving dancers in need!" He shook his head and chuckled again as he closed the tag, not putting the doll down like she had expected. After a moment she hesitantly pushed the clothes she had selected, catching his attention easily. Nodding, he took the clothes from her.

"Did you pick up some shoes as well?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"Third isle, go grab some and come back. I'll be here." Arme quickly followed his instructions and ran down into the first isle she saw. The large signs over the isles were of no assistance, the foriegn characters serving to confuse and frustrate her. After four tries she ended up in an isle with shoes in a row on one of the shelves, sorted by their colour scheme. She found a pair of shoes matching her outfit, though looking oddly like they wouldn't be good for running in. She shrugged and picked them up anyways, figuring anything would be better than the bare feet she had to work with at the moment. She hurried back, and true to his word, Lass was still there. He took the shoes from her and silence fell between the two.

"Hmm... What element do you prefer?" He questioned suddenly. Arme blinked, staring at him blankly.

"What?"

"Element! You know, Wind, Ice, Fire, Thunder, Shadow, Heart, Rose..." He stared at her expectantly as he listed them, though her face was still blank as ever.

"Uh... Ice?" She stated, though it was more of a question. Lass nodded and reached onto one of the higher pegs, pulling off a small, purple tinged necklace that was almost shaped like a lightning bolt, though there was an orb in the center. Once retrieved it was added to the ever growing pile Lass was holding.

"H-Hey! I already have a necklace, and it's important to me! I don't need another!" She exclaimed, her hand rising up to her neck. Her eyes widened as her hand met only bare skin, even the chain's ever-present pressure on her neck absent. She looked at Lass helplessly, only to notice him holding out her necklace.

"You! How did you--!?" She attempted to form a statement as the necklace was dropped in her hand.

"One thing you should learn here is that you never wear something that's precious. Someone could have taken that from you just as easily as I did." He informed her, walking past her and down the isle. As she went to fasten it around her neck again, she remembered his words and placed the object in her pocket, running to catch up with him. He hadn't gone far, and was now looking at a shelf with staffs on it. He handed her a thin black staff with gold rims and she stared at it for a moment, wondering what exactly she should do with it. When Lass realized she had no idea what she was doing he took the mercy of explaining.

"Try to channel your mana energy through the staff, you need to find one that's compatible with your magic." He explained vaguely, leaving Arme to stare at him.

"Well... Remember when you cast those spells earlier?" Arme nodded.

"Well, did you feel an energy going through you?" Another, more vigorous nod.

"That's mana, your magic energy. Channeled properly, you can make powerful spells. A wand for a mage is like a way to exert that energy, without one it's extremely for a mage to exert any mana at all. I'm surprised you were able to summon those meteors without the aid of a weapon, but we can't count on that again." Arme nodded again in understanding, cheeks feeling slightly more warm when she realized she had been complemented. She closed her eyes again, trying to summon the energy she had felt before. She began to feel something circulating, but it felt trapped within her. Opening her eyes again, she shook her head and handed the staff back to Lass. Getting the idea, she began to run her finger tips along the bases of the staffs on the shelf, looking for something that seemed to exert the energy building up in her.

She got a slight shock and her hand automatically wrapped around the handle of one of the staffs, one with an identical rim to the cuffs on her gloves. The dull orange orb held in place by two lightning-like pieces of metal on either side of the staff began to glow gently, and she could almost feel the energy crackling within. Certain, she picked it up and handed it to Lass. Immediately as the contact was removed, the energy swirling within her began to evaporate, and the glow of the orb went out completely. With this object added to the pile, they began walking towards the front of the shop, where a long dark counter was, the shopkeeper leaning over it drearily. He wore a dark cloak, long black hair cascading over both shoulders.

"Ah, Lass-sama. A pleasure. How rare it is to see you, of all people." The man rasped in an odd accent, flipping through the objects left on the counter. She noted one of the man's bright red eyes observing her, and stepped slightly behind Lass and out of his view. She watched as Lass gave the man an odd currency of small golden coins, instead waiting until the exchange was over to question about the shop keeper. When she went to ask, she was given the outfit before she could speak.

"There's a change room in the back, go change before we leave." He murmured to her. Arme cautiously turned away and went towards the back of the store. She chose the door that seemed the least creepy of the ones that were there and was pleased to find a rather normal looking change room, albeit there was a lack of lighting. She changed quickly, the outfit feeling overall much more comfortable than her hospital outfit. When she walked out Lass was waiting at the door for her, a bag in his hand holding the purchases of the day. They exited the building and entered the soaked streets again, the rain coming down in a lighter drizzle. This time they walked at a more leisurely pace, giving Arme time to look around at their surroundings. The street wasn't very interesting overall, though more people had come out when the rain had stopped coming down so hard.

"Oof!!" She gasped as she ran into someone again, rubbing her eyes and looking up.

"Sorry, I- Huh?" She hadn't bumped into Lass, as she had been expecting. Infront of her was a rather large man with a bow resting on his back and short brown hair. She quickly looked around and realized Lass was nowhere to be seen. _Did I loose him when I was looking around...? _Arme wondered, looking everywhere in an attempt to locate the silver haired boy.

"Hey!" She looked over towards the sound that had caught her attention, and realized it was the man she had bumped into, sporting an odd grin.

" I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going. I need to find someone with silv--" The man lurched forward suddenly and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, girlie. You look lost! Why don't you come on over to my place?" He breathed, leaning closer to her.

"N-No, thank you... I just need to find--" She attempted to move away from the man.

"Nonsense!" He stated loudly, a large hand enclosing around her thin wrist as he began to drag her down the street despite her struggling.

"N-No!!! Let me go!" She cried, pulling on her wrist as powerfully as she could, though she knew without trying it that the man easily overpowered her.

"Stop!!!" She yelled again, getting several odd looks from the people around her. At this the man actually did turn around. He put his other hand over her mouth, still holding onto her wrist.

"Now listen here. You're gonna need to shut up right about no--"

"Let her go." A voice said from behind Arme, and she turned her head to look as the man's grip became lack. Lass was standing there, and she could feel his arm around her waist lightly, pulling her closer to himself and away from the large man who out sized him by quite a bit. To Arme's surprise the larger man actually looked nervous- almost scared.

"Do I have to say it again? Let her **go**." Lass hissed, and she could feel the grip on her wrist fade away completely. She held it to her chest as she backed away, leaning on Lass.

"Oh. Oh!! L-Lass-sama! I had no idea... No idea at all that she was with you! I'm so sorry, it'll never happen again!" The man stuttered, hands held out in front of himself protectively.

"So you think it's ok to do something like that to a girl who isn't involved with the Grand Chase?" Lass whispered, and the man simply looked like he was at a loss for words due to his blunder, "Get out of here. You disgust me." And that was all it took for the man to turn tail and run frantically away from the two. She could hear Lass sigh, and felt a slight pressure on her shoulder. Lass' silvery strands of hair were falling down her shoulder and pressed against the side of her neck for only a second as he rested his head lightly on her shoulder.

"You complete retard... Don't you have any survival instinct at **all**?" He murmured half heartedly as he backed away from her. His hand wrapped lightly around her arm, dragging her along with him silently as they continued down the street. Arme kept her eyes strictly trained on Lass, not daring to look away for even a second. She seemed to have rather bad luck that day, it seemed best not to do anything else dangerous.

_Tpp.. Tpp.. _She began to try to focus on Lass' footsteps sounding ever so lightly from the stone path, but was unable to locate them. Her own footsteps sounded loud and unbalanced when she was given the chance to compare with his, and she resolved to work on it as soon as she got the chance. They became slightly faster as a large house came into view, dwarfing the ones next to it by comparison. He came to a stop right in front of the large iron gate that led into the home, a large padlock resting on the front. She grew slightly alarmed when Lass didn't begin looking in his pockets for a key, instead turning to her.

"You... You have the key, right?" She asked nervously. There was no way she'd be able to squeeze through the bars, they were extremely close together. Her heart lurched when Lass shook his head.

"This is a trick gate, there is no key." He stated, causing Arme to breathe out a sigh of relief.

"So, we're going in some secret enterance?" Lass shook his head again. She was about to question what exactly they were supposed to do to get through when Lass grabbed her suddenly, lifting her off the ground completely.

"H-Hey!!! Put me down!" Arme cried, her cheeks turning a furious shade of red as she attempted to get Lass to put her down.

"Bad idea." Was the whispered answer, and all at once she realized they had lifted into the air. She squeezed her eyes shut until she felt herself hit solid ground, and Lass had put her down. The fence was now behind them, the silver haired boy shrugging when she asked him what exactly had happened.

"It's the only way in, unless you can teleport through the gate." He explained, pushing her behind him as they got closer to the large door that lay in the center of the front of the building.

"Hmm.. One of the people you're about to meet can be kind of... Hyper at times." Lass said vaguely. He didn't give her a chance to ask a question before he unlocked the door and flung it open. There was silence before a loud voice came echoing through the house.

"Lass, you're back! **Hey, Ronan! Lass is back!**" The feminine voice yelled, and a flash of red could be seen over Lass' shoulder.

"So, you got all the shattered scimitar fragments, right?" The girl asked as footsteps began sounding from further in the house.

"Yeah, I just need to go see the guild leader." Lass said, still not leaving the front doorway.

"That's good, because we all know those things are a pain to coll--OH MY GOD LASS BROUGHT HOME A GIRL!!!!! **RONAN!!!!! LASS BROUGHT A GIRL HOME**!!!!" The red haired girl shouted, pushing Lass aside to get a better view of Arme. The previously heard footsteps became faster, and in a moment a blue haired man with a pony tail was standing next to the red-head, gawking at Arme.

"Well, I must admit I never thought I'd live to see this day, Lass." The blue haired man stated, his eyes still wide and glued on Arme. She could hear Lass sigh, and she then felt herself being pulled into the house and out of the light drizzle.

"Grow up, would you? And Ronan, if you don't stop gawking you won't live to see anything past this day." Lass stated. Overall, neither of the two stopped staring at Arme like she had two heads, but they did take measures to make it appear more discrete.

"So..." The red haired girl began awquardly, looking to Lass for answers. The silver haired boy's eyes flickered to Arme and back to the red haired girl before he began speaking.

"When are Amy and Jin going to be coming back?" He questioned.

"Soon, but Lass!--"

"Elesis, why don't you show Arme here around the house? Ronan and I will wait in the dining room for you two to finish up."

"Laaassssssss!!!!!!!" Elesis grumbled, looking at him frustratedly.

"**Now**, Elesis." He stated again, turning around before she could start an argument. Ronan sent her an apologetic look before trailing after Lass, a door slamming shut between them and the two girls. There was a moment of silence before Elesis motioned for Arme to follow her.

"Hurry!" The girl whispered as they wandered through random generic rooms. Arme began wondering if it was possibly the tour she was supposed to be getting when they stopped abruptly infront of a wall.

"I'll be damned if they think they're leaving **me** out of something important!" She whispered venomously as she pressed her ear against the wall. After a moment Arme followed her example, allowing her head to rest gently against the wall.

"It matches, Ronan..." Lass was saying edgily. There was a small pause before Ronan answered.

"You're right about that, but we can't be certain! For all you know it might not even happen, so stop worrying--"

"And for all you know it could happen again! Do you think our group can really handle another Li--" That was all she go to hear before Elesis pushed her slightly enough that she couldn't hear the conversation. The girl that had looked so lively only moments ago was now pale as a ghost, refusing to look at Arme.

"Elesis--?"

"I've heard enough. Let's go." She murmured, pulling Arme away from the wall and down a corridor, leaving the purple haired girl to wonder what had just transpired, and if things could go wrong even in the new light of this strange world.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this wasn't up sooner, I was cram leveling Jin to attempt to get his fourth class crest D: I didn't get it, but I got from first class to third class so it's all good! In order to make you curious for the next chapter and stuff I'm supposed to ask questions such as 'What could possibly have spooked Elesis so badly?!" or "What deep, dark secrets are the Grand Chase hiding?!' Instead, I feel like asking what your favourite pie is! Tell me in your comment and YOUR favourite pie may be the star of the next chapter _ Choose wisely.

As usual, and questions or concerns can be left in a comment, I'll try to respond as quickly as possible!

-Utsuro


	4. New Acquaintances

A/N: LOL FAIL. Last chapter I said Arme picked the ice necklace, then described the lightning necklace . ;_; I apologize if that created any confusion.

Don't own Grand Chase! Or any characters D: Storyline is mine though!

Chapter 3: New Acquaintances

* * *

That evening had passed rather uneventfully. Whenever confronted with a question by Arme, Elesis either avoided it or got angry, something the purple haired girl had quite quickly come to realize was common from the redhead. Ronan attempted several times to make Arme comfortable in the house to make up for Elesis' miserable mood, oblivious to the fact that the girls had been listening in. Somewhere along the line, Elesis had stomped off to the training grounds Arme had been told were nearby, Ronan running after her moments later.

And that was how Arme ended up entirely alone for the first time since she had been in the strange new area. The first thing she attempted to do after realizing this was to locate Lass. So far, he had been the most constant thing, always there when she was confused. Leaving her in the safety of the house, however, Lass seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. She had searched through the rooms vigorously, yet failed to find him.

She had, fortunately, managed to locate the kitchen. It was rather large, with white walls and clean marble counter tops. It held several cupboards and drawers, a fridge standing in the corner. running over to it, Arme flung the door open. It was filled to the brim with foods, most fruits and vegetables she could think of abundant in supply. It was at that point Arme's stomache gave a large growl, and she decided that no one would care if she made a snack.

* * *

Staring at the counter infront of her, Arme scratched the back of her head. Her little 'snack' project had gone a bit further, equalling something closer to a full on buffet. Several different meats were displayed, aswell as a large bowl filled with udon. Slices of fruits and vegetables surrounded the fresh loaf of bread she had found the ingredients to make. She couldn't name several of the things she had made, so overwhelmed by spices and variety that she had begun making combinations that simply smelled or sounded good. The cake baking in the oven gave the kitchen a nice smell, filling the room and the hallway.

The only real problem here, she realized, was that she had made a complete and total mess of the kitchen. That, and she hadn't asked permission to use anything in the kitchen, let alone using up half of the foods stored in the cupboards and fridge. With a large sigh, Arme decided she had better clean up and began dragging all of the dishes to the sink. As she began cleaning in silence, She started to wonder about the events that had led her to the house. A small smile came to her face as she thought about Lass, someone who could be so kind while still acting like a complete jerk. She hadn't felt like her was treating her like an outsider, but... _Do you think our group can really handle another Li--" _Li? She was sure she hadn't heard the full jist of what was going on, but at the moment she did realize something was upsetting the silver haired male. And that something had something to do with her. She briefly wondered if she would get a response if she asked Ronan, but that would mean confessing to eavesdropping. Which would mean confessing to Elesis eavesdropping. She didn't want to be on anymore shaky ground with the other girl, and couldn't imagine Ronan **not** scolding her for it.

Then her thoughts traced back to one of the rooms she had been in while searching for Lass. It had been a medium sized room with ten shelves, organized neatly along the walls. Seven of them had objects on them and seemed to be colour coded, the last three along the left wall colourless and empty. The first thing she had noticed was a shelf covered in pink. When she had walked up to it she had noticed several dolls similar to the one Lass had bought earlier crammed onto the shelf. There were books with the same pink haired girl on the cover, cookie tins and cutters, and a small pink casette player with three cassettes lying next to it. She tentatively picked up the first of the casettes and stuck it in. First there was silence, and then a clear voice entered her ears through the headphones.

_Ano hi boku no kokoro wa oto mo naku kuzure satta  
Kowarete saken demo keshi sare nai kioku to  
Kurayami ga hitomi no naka he to nagare komu  
Mou iro sae mie nai ashita he to shizumu_

_Wakari aeru hi wo tomedo naku sagashita_  
_Ushinau tame dake ni ima wo ikiteku_  
_Mou dame da to hitori kodoku wo daite mo_  
_If you turn on the lights..._  
_Hikari he terashiteku_

_Negai tsudukeru omoi itsuka iroduku yo to_  
_Oshiete kureta kokoro ni ikitsudukeru hito_  
_Nanimo kamo hitsuzen no naka de umareru Colors_  
_Mou ichido kono te de asu wo egakeru kara........._

She had closed her eyes as the calming sound waved over her. She wasn't sure of the language and couldn't understand the lyrics, but nevertheless enjoyed the sound. As she opened her eyes and turned to look around she was in for even more of a shock. Each of the shelves was covered by merchandise, just like the one she was at. She turned off the cassette and walked over to the other shelves. The girl with pink hair had the most plushies and figurines of the shelves, though the second most covered was red; she recognized it almost instantly as Elesis. There were several plushies, as well as a mold for a miniature sword and a spear. The notebooks and other items were overwhelming. The shelf right to the left of Elesis' shelf was of Ronan. Small, rather accurate figurines were lined alond the top shelf, one acting as a paperweight on a stack of letters. Next to that was an orange shelf, several plant pots lining the bottom and looking rather neglected. An orange haired boy was the figure diplayed on this shelf, grinning widely as he wielded an axe. On one of the notebooks someone had scribbled on it, then wrote something else. In another colour there was more writing, and a small drawing of the orange haired boy taking an axe to a red haired boy's head.

Her curiosity growing, she looked for the red haired boy's shelf, placed on the left of the pink haired girl's. This shelf had less on it, a few figurines and plushies. There was a certificate of some sort hanging at the back of one of the shelves, though like the rest of the writing, nothing made sense. Growing increasingly frustrated at the odd language everything was written in, she moved back to the orange haired boy's shelf and checked the one she had skipped over in between the orange and pink shelves.

"Lass!!" She had cried, putting her hands to her mouth. There were considerably less plushies and figurines, though the ones that were there seemed to be in impeccable condition. There were daggers laying there, and a shard of something metal. she reached out and gingerly picked up one of the plushie off the shelf. _It's so soft..._ She had thought, holding the plushie close. She had then abruptly realized how odd it would look if someone walked in and saw her smothering a Lass doll. She placed it back on the shelf and walked over to the last shelf that had items on it. She blinked at it curiously. There were only two things on the shelf. A worn plushie sat on the shelf of a smirking girl with blush on her cheeks, her hair pulled up into a pony tail. Laying next to it was a finely crafted miniature of a bow, the details going down to engravement on the handle. Aside from these two items, the shelf was covered in dust. It was apparent noone had touched it in a while. Feeling as though it was her duty, she had picked up both of the items and given the shelf a quick wipe down, placing both of the objects back. Three completely unoccupied shelves lay next to the blonde girl's shelf.

She had been about to leave when she noticed a picture hanging on the wall next to the door. All of the people on the shelves were there, Elesis seemingly picking a fight with the red haired boy in the background while Ronan tried to calm them both down. The orange haired boy was grinning, and had his arm slung around the shoulders of the blonde girl. The pink haired girl, oblivious to those around her, had a violin out. The bow was rested across the strings, her mouth open in a silent song. Near the edge of the picture and almost out of view was Lass, arms crossed as though he had better things to do than entertain the others in the picture. It was apparent on his face though, in all of their faces... They were all happy.

She then realized she had zoned out, most of the dishes done as she had been off in dream-land. What, she wondered, had made them all so famous? Arme planned to ask the next person she saw. What she wasn't expecting, however, was Elesis to come bursting in through the door with a grin on her face, looking considerably in a better mood than before. When she looked at the counter, her grin fell off her face completely. Silence filled the room for a full minute before Elesis turned and stuck her head out the door.

"R-Ronan! Get over here, please!!! I think I'm hallucinating again!" She yelled. Arme could hear footsteps, and soon Ronan was standing in the doorframe with Elesis.

"What do you mea--- Oh." Ronan had turned and looked into the kitchen where Arme was standing and noted the food on the counter with wide eyes. He turned his head to Elesis to confirm that was what she was worried about, and then cautiously walked over to the counter. Hesitantly, he grabbed a piece of chicken from one of the plates and stuck it in his mouth. Another moment passed and he turned to Elesis.

"No, it's real!" He called. Arme hardly had time to blink before Elesis was next to her, taking something from nearly every food serving. With her mouth filled with food, Elesis turned to Arme suspiciously.

"You... You cooked this?" She asked suspiciously. More worried now then ever, Arme mumbled a quiet 'yes'. The next thing she knew, Arme was being squeezed to death in a hug from Elesis.

"Ronan, we gotta keep this one!!!!" She called, releasing Arme to go back to grabbing more food. Ronan nodded in agreeance as he made a more dignified display by actually grabbing a plate. He stacked it to the brim before handing it to Elesis and pulling out another for himself.

"Sooo... You're not mad?" Arme commented. Elesis looked at her like she was crazy.

"Are you insane?! I haven't had a proper meal in months! We normally just have a bag of chips or something for dinner!" She said through her mouthful as she went to sit at the table.

"**You **normally have a bag of chips," Ronan commented from behind her, "The rest of us normally have a more healthy meal of fruits and vegetables in a bowl." Seating himself next to Elesis, he motioned for Arme to join them.

"But... What's with all the food in the fridge then?" She asked, grabbing a plate for herself and filling it. Ronan shrugged.

"Offerings from the Townspeople. We can't exactly turn them down, so we just have alot stored up." Arme turned to stare at the two.

"Offerings?! I also saw the room with all the plushies! Who **are **you guys?!" She demanded. Ronan looked up at her with a suprised look, Elesis following suit.

"You mean Lass didn't tell you?" He asked slowly, staring at her uncertainly.

"**You mean you don't already KNOW!?!?! Where have you been the last seven years?!**" Elesis demanded, pointing at Arme. She looked at Ronan for a second and calmed down, sitting back in her seat.

"Hm... Where to start.... Well, If you don't know about the Grand Chase I'm assuming you do don't know about the war between Serdin and Kanavan?" Ronan asked, continuing at the confused look on Arme's face. "Well... Seven years ago an evil witch by the name of Kaze'Aze got near the Queen of Kananvan by killing her most trusted advisor and disgusing herself as him. From there she was able to entice the queen to darkness, and cause an extreme war to break out over the entirety of Bermesiah between the kingdoms of Serdin and Kanavan. When the Queen of Serdin was sacrificed in battle five years after the start of the war, the Queen of Kanavan regained her senses and discovered Kaze'Aze. When she went to set her army on Kaze'Aze, the Queen of Darkness disappeared. In order to prevent Kaze'Aze from preventing another war, the Queen of Serdin created an elite group of warriors to combat her. This group is the Grand Chase, which is us. We've been chasing after Kaze'Aze for two years." He finished, looking towards Elesis for any imput she might have.

"Well, I was the only one in the group in the beginning. Another girl joined after me, but she left about a year ago. Ronan we met in the Gorge of Oath, and Ryan in the forest trying to protect it against a troll, the tree hugger... Lass was next, but he can tell you his story if he feels like it. Amy joined after that when we found her trying to fight a swarm of monsters. Lastly, we met Jin, fighting alone in the Silver Continent." _Another girl...? Is that the girl with only one doll on her shelf? If she left, it would make sense..._ Arme quietly thought about it, her mind trying to close in around all the facts.

"Wait... If there are that many people in the group, why are only you, Ronan and Lass here?" She questioned curiously.

"Amy and Jin are out putting a show on in a town a little while away, they'll be back tomorrow. Ryan decided to do a checkup on the forest while they were gone, because we can't stay in one place for too long. And like I said, the other girl's gone." Elesis explained, getting up to grab seconds for her plate.

"Hmm... Speaking of Lass, where is he?" Arme asked nervously, looking at the rapidly depleting food stack on the counter. Ronan must have noticed, because he began signaling for Elesis to come back to the table.

"Elesis, don't eat it all!" He turned from her and back to Arme, "Don't worry about Lass; he tends to disappear sometimes. When he comes back I'm sure he'll eat." Ronan said, getting up to place his plate on the counter.

"Alright! I think I'm going to go to sleep early today so I can make it to the Weapon Store tomorrow, my glave is getting chipped. Elesis, you need anything?" Elesis thought for a minute.

"Hmm, yeah. Mind bringing my necklace to Elina? I have a couple gems I can give you." She requested, unclipping the necklace with a flame-shaped surface and a red gem in the center from her neck. The blue haired boy accepted the necklace from her, and the gems she pulled out of her pocket after the necklace. Giving the two girls a small wave, he walked through the archway and up the stairway, barely visible from Arme's seat. This left the two in an uncomfortable silence. Finished with her meal, Arme sat silently in her chair and watched Elesis. It was the red haired girl that, after a moment, began a conversation.

" 'm sorry..." She mumbled through a mouthful of food, looking to the side with her eyes downcast. Arme blinked slowly as Elesis looked at her.

"For what?" Arme asked, staring at the other girl confusedly. The redhead sighed.

"You know... I yelled at you earlier." She explained, her plate finally cleared. She got up and placed it on the counter before turning to Arme again.

"It's... Lire's a touchy subject for all of us..." She whispered gently, her bangs covering her eyes ever so slightly, perhaps to try to cover the shimmering glisten near the corner of her eyes. _**Lire..? could it be..**__ Do you think our group can really handle another Li.."_... It could be the same person, Arme decided. When she looked up, her firey red eyes were full of determination.

"Arme, I need you to promise me something." Elesis said, walking back over to the table.

"Hmm... Sure?" Arme replied.

"**Never** repeat that name infront of Ryan. He'll be coming back soon, and it's not smart to bring back some unwanted memories. For **any **of us." The red eyed girl said seriously, her eyes boring into Arme. The purple haired girl nodded mutely. The level of worry coming off Elesis, Arme decided, was extremely unusual to see. All at once she realized some tears had leaked out of Elesis' eyes and were falling freely down her cheeks. When the redhead noticed, she quickly wiped them off. A rather forced smile appearing on her face, Elesis turned away from Arme.

"I... I'm gonna go back out and train for a little while longer. There are some free rooms on the second floor in the first hallway to your left, you can take your pick." She murmured, and sped out the door leading to what Arme guessed was the training ground. Arme looked at the leftover food on the counter and packaged up what she could, sticking it in the fridge. She then pulled out a bit of everthing and put it on a plate, putting it on the counter. Lass, she figured, would probably pass by sometime. Either that or Elesis would come back in and eat it, but either way...

The purple haired girl turned around walked through the same way Ronan had gone, her feet padding lightly against the staircase. In the hallway she was directed to there were four rooms, each with a colour scheme in them. The one that stood out to her the most was the purple and white room, as it had a red pair of pajamas resting on the bed that she guessed either Ronan or Lass had had the courtesy to steal from Elesis' room. Chuckling at the obvious reason the clothes were set in the purple room, she ran her hand through her hair and stepped into the room. The soft white carpet felt comforting on her feet, especially after having to run an extremely long distance without shoes (she mentally glared at Lass during this thought). There was a white wooden bordering going half way up the wall, then changing to a light purple wall paper. The bed had a light purple sheet matching the walls covering it. Several other items in the room followed the colour scheme, and Arme actually found it to be to her liking. She switched clothes quickly and folded her outfit at the end of the bed. She noticed on the bedside there was a book with an odd looking symbol on the cover, and several other similar books beneath it. Flipping through the top book quickly, she concluded that they were probably on magic, the images decipting several skills that appeared to be cast by a person with a staff.

Placing the book back, she saw a mirror standing over the dresser. Reflected in it, a much healthier Arme than expected could be seen. She leaned forward and observed herself. The dark shadows always present around her eyes seemed to have faded, her sickly looking skin colour changed to a pale white. Her hair was restored to the lustre it had been before her sickness had robbed it of life, and her eyes, normally a dull, depressing colour shone with life, and the hope that seemed to have dissapeared years ago was back in full force. More importantly, the Arme in the mirror... She was happy. Sighing, the purple haired girl walked away from the mirror. Before curling into the comfortable looking bed she walked over to the window. It appeared to be looking out over the training area, a large area filled with several dummies and several other obstacles. There, in the center, was Elesis. Arme watched silently as she took her red hilted sword and chipped repeatedly into the soft wood of the dummy. She didn't look like she'd be sleeping any time soon.

Curling up in the soft comforter, Arme couldn't help but wonder how long it would be until she woke up in the pristine white room again.

* * *

The next morning Arme was woke up by Elesis, who was wearing a pair of pajamas identical to her own.

"Breakfast!" She had exclaimed hyperly, pulling Arme out of the bed before she had had a chance to fully wake up. When they got downstairs into the kitchen however, Arme instantly realized there was no breakfast actually prepared. Letting go of her arm, Elesis wandered over to the table to sit on it, watching Arme expectantly. It was after a moment that Arme realized she had been waken up not to eat breakfast, but to prepare it. Uncomfortably aware of the unwavering stare aimed at her, Arme hesitantly walked over to the fridge, looking over the contents. Once some eggs were selected, she quietly walked over to the cupboard and began rummaging for something to go with it.

* * *

The meal had been rather simple in the end, some eggs, bacon and bread. Still, every time Arme made a move to put another egg in the frying pan or another slice of bacon in next to it, Elesis seemed extremely amused, as though it was an extremely rare and amazing sight. From what they had said the previous day, it was. Moments after the meal was prepared Ronan came down the stairs in navy blue pajamas, and Arme couldn't help but wonder if everyone in the house was colour-coded. When she had decided to voice this question she had gotten the simple response of 'Hm? Yeah, kinda.' From Elesis, and no other explanation was offered. Another question came to mind, and Arme decided to ask.

"Elesis?"

"Mhm?" Elesis nodded.

"Was there a plate of food on the counter when you came in from training last night?" She asked quietly, picking at her food. It hadn't been on the counter when she had come downstairs that morning.

"Hm? Nah, I wish. Why, should there have been?" Elesis questioned.

"Ah, no. I was just wondering." Arme replied smiling. So, atleast he lad gotten some decent food. Most likely. Or he had just thrown it away, or Ronan had decided to come down and eaten it. The smile still on her face, she began to swing her legs back and fourth as she sat in her chair.

"Oh, that does remind me, though. Lass left a note." This she adressed to Ronan, who looked up at her with interest.

"He actually said where he was going? How rare. What did the note say?"

"He said he's going to visit the leader of the asassin's guild, should be back late tonight or early tomorrow. He also asked us to stop by the Violet Mage's Guild for the chef over there." Arme was indicated at this.

"The... Violet Mage Guild?" She questioned, looking curiously at the two and remembering the name somewhat from her conversation with Lass the previous day.

"It's group of both new and extremely experienced mages who will teach you the basics if they see that you have magic potential." Ronan explained, turning away from the table. He walked up the staircase again, leaving Arme and Elesis at the table.

"So... Lass is an asassin?" Arme asked, observing Elesis.

"Well, he will be when he comes back, hopefully. For each class there are updated classes, and asassin is an upgrade of thief. I'm a spearman, Ronan's a dragon , if everything goes well, will become a Mage." She said, grinning as she continued to stack eggs on her plate.

"A mage... What are the updated classes of mage?" Arme asked. At this point Ronan came back down the stairs, a large bag flung over his back as he took the question for Elesis.

"Well, their second job is an... Alchemist? To get it you have to master the mage class, and the leader will shatter several of the alchemist's weapons into three hundred fragments. You have to go collect them, and bring them back to the leader. Next is... I'm not sure, and your fourth class would be a Battle Mage." Ronan said as he threw on a light coat, heading out the front door.

"I'll be back soon!" He yelled, and the door swung shut loudly behind him. The two girls sat in a silence, before Elesis seemed to remember something. She jumped up from her chair and ran over to one of the corners of the counter, where several piles of paper with the frustratingly odd text on them lay. The redhead shuffled through the papers, seemingly searching for something. Before long she had triumphantly pulled out a colourful piece of paper, though Arme couldn't quite make out the picture on it. At the picture, however, Elesis' grin began to grow. Well, I have something to show you today! First, we'll stop by the Violet Mage's Guild, then we'll head to the town square." With a plan in mind, Elesis left her things on the table and bolted up the staircase. Arme followed suit after cleaning up, heading back to her room. Before leaving she had decided to check the door she had figured was a closet and stepped into a large bathroom. Sighing at relief from the sight of a shower, she had taken an extremely quick shower before getting dressed. She was still combing her hair when Elesis had burst into her room, demanding that she hurry.

"We'll be late!" She had cried, and Arme had found herself being dragged down the hallways yet again. Looking her over at the door, Elesis frowned.

"Don't you have a jacket? She questioned, grabbing her own from the coat rack. With a shake of the head she had a light blue jacket thrown at her.

"Here, take Lass'. He never wears it anyways." She said vaguely, and then Arme felt herself being dragged along **again** through the busy outside streets. Arme had barely had time to throw on the jacket, much less protest that it was Lass'. She felt somewhat gulty to be wearing it, and also somewhat like she had stolen it. She was kind of worried she would bump in to the silver-haired boy, and that he in turn would question why she was stealing his clothes. Shaking her head to rid herself of the worrisome situation, Arme decided to actually pay attention to the way she was walking. Being picked up by another stranger didn't sound very fun to her.

Before long the two were standing infront of a large plain building with several signs painted on the walls and door in purple paint. The spearman seemed somewhat hesitant to go near the building, though she did anyways. When the door creaked open a short girl stepped out, her long blue hair held up in an odd fashion. She frowned lightly at Elesis, a confused look overtaking her features.

"Ah. Elesis-sama. To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you today? Shouldn't you be in the town square?" She asked, her brows furrowing even more as Elesis stepped closer.

"Yeah, Yeah, we're going in a minute. Elena, I just wanted to introduce you to Arme, a friend here by reccomendation of Lass." She explained. Elena turned to face Arme, and her eyes widened considerably.

"Reccomendation of Lass-sama? How strange..." She murmured, motioning for the purple haired girl to step closer. She did so hesitantly, looking into eyes a lighter purple shade than her own After a moment, the blue haired girl reached out gingerly. Her hand rested on Arme's forehead for only a fraction of a second before she pulled back rather suddenly, as though she had been shocked.

"E-Elesis-sama, where on earth did Lass-sama find this girl?!" The mage asked, her eyes wide with interest.

"I... We're not sure." Elesis finished, "Why?"

"Elesis-sama, this girl... She's absolutely filled with mana, to the brim. What's more, her body is acting like a reactor, almost equivalent to a staff. As far as mages go, this girl has the potential to be a Magic Power House. If I'm being honest, anyone with this much potential and mana stored up could quite easily end up bermesiah's most powerful mage." She had whispered, her eyes sparkling.

"Stored up? And, well... We need you to train her. She's only ever casted magic once, for the first time yesterday. Without a staff aswell, from what Lass told us..." Elesis explained. Elena turned to the redhead, though still kept her eyes locked on Arme.

"Simply put, when mana is not used it is stored up in the body. For every person, even as a child they have had large ammounts of mana that simply drains out through the years. Ones with a better capacity to contain this mana are mages. This girl... She has an unbelievable ammount stored up. It's almost as though she was in a place where mana was unable to exit her. She can channel it without a weapon aswell?" The blue haired girl nodded, "I'll take her on as my apprentice! I'm assuming you're a bit busy now, bring her back in the afternoon. I'll be waiting!" The mage nodded and turned back into the building, the door closing behind her silently.

"Well, that settles that! And leaves us with... about ten minutes to get to the town square!" Elesis declared. She motioned for Arme to follow her and began running, leaving Arme to run behind her wondering if the red haired girl ever went slowly.

They arrived at the center of the town with atleast five minutes to spare. This seemed fortunate, as wherever Arme looked there seemed to be a huge crowd of people, all attempting to get closer to the stage that lay in the very center. Most of the rows of seats that were there were crammed full, and people were struggling to rush to whatever seat was left large signs were being held up with writing on them that Arme didn't even bother looking at, and she grabbed lightly onto Elesis' shirt as to try not to get lost.

"Come on," Elesis whispered, pushing her way through the crowd. When some refused to move Elesis simply yelled, and her presence was immidiately noticed. The people slowly began to clear out a path for the two, most of the crowd torn between staring at the strange purple haired girl or watching the stage. In the end they had decided to watch the stage, allowing Elesis and Arme to make their way to the front of the isles. Sitting down already was Ronan, and several empty seats lay to either side of him. He gave the two a small wave as they came in, and Elesis huffed as she threw herself into the seat next to him. Arme more timidly took a seat next to Elesis as she began talking to Ronan.

"The crowd is so huge every time!!" She complained, bringing her feet up to her chest as she lay her head on her knees, her eyes intent on the stage. Ronan nodded.

"Yeah, but you know how it is. This is really important for both us and the rest of the people here..." Arme assumed he would have continued, but just then a rather tall man in a suit stepped out from the large red curtains. He stepped to the side, where a large microphone was standing, the crowd screaming loudly.

"Hello there! Are you guys ready for a great show?!?!?!" The man yelled, and the scream of 'YES!!!' echoed throughout the audience.

"Well, I won't hold it up for you then! Let's hear some cheering!" He cried, and began to step off the stage. A loud sound began to fill the area, and soon everyone in the crowd was chanting 'Amy! Amy!" The chorus of chants continued, louder and louder until the curtains began to slowly slide open. A hushed silence filled the area, and the curtains flew open suddenly. There was a large explosion of colour on the stage that made Arme's eyes widen, even more so when a figure came spinning down from the top of the stage, landing in the dead center as the pink haze from the explosions began to fade. A loud thudding beat began, and the smoke faded. She was finally able to make out the figure in the center. A beautiful girl with two long flowing pink pigtails held by flower hairties on either side of her head was there, her black and pink outfit swaying around her at the slightest moment.

Then, the girl began to dance. Singing began to fill the area, and Arme was almost certain she had heard it before. She abruptly remembered the room with all the dolls on it, and the cassette laying on the pink shelf. _This girl's... A part of the Grand Chase?_ The thought seemed wild, and was quickly tumbled out of her head by the overwhelming show being put on by the pink haired girl. She certainly seemed to have incredible skill, her body flipping and spinning in graceful, fluid movements as she quickly captivated the audience and kept the beat that seemed to be echoing inside Arme at that point. The beat got louder and louder, picking up speed as she began moving faster and faster, bright lights illuminating the stage and adding to the amazingly controlled chaos that was happening.

Before Arme had had a chance to fully recognize what had happened all the lights had shut off, the music stopping abruptly and the darkness hiding the pink dancer from view. This was only for a fraction of a second, and the stage exploded into colour once more. The girl, who had been standing in the middle of the stage, took three backflips and stood in place for a moment as another figure burst onto the stage. He had short red hair, his outfit made of red, white, and black. A spiral of flames circled the bottom of his right leg as he performed a flip, landing fairly close to the pink haired girl. The music began speeding up again, and the two stepped closer. Arme gasped momentarily as the girl made a kick towards him, the red haired boy quickly dodging and moving in for an attack of his own. She watched the stage closely as blows were continuously exchanged, realizing quickly that it was a mock-fight; just another style of dance. The two were making fluid movements that always seemed almost land, just grazing skin. Arme gazed at the stage, marvelling at the level of trust that had to exist between the two on the stage as they spiralled around one another. The crowd was now going wild as they all attempted to get closer to the stage and see more accurately.

The fighting continued for a while, and Arme was simply caught up by the dance. There were variations in the music, the song changing from slower and calmer to quick and upbeat in an instance, the dancers adjusting their dance styles just as quickly. Then, all too soon, the music began fading out, the two standing next to eachother in the center of the stage as the crowd erupted into cheer. She turned to the two people next to her, suprised to see Elesis' eyes closed tranquily as she leaned lightly on the blue haired man. Ronan didn't seem to notice or mind at all, his eyes stayed fixed to the stage as the two dancers walked over to the microphone. The pink haired girl took it as she began to wave widely to the audience.

"Heya, everyone! Thanks so much for coming!!! We appreciate it alot! The Grand Chase will be in town for the remainder of the month, you guys reach us if you need us! This has been Jin and Amy, love you all!!! Hope you had a good time!" She yelled over the screaming hordes of people. She set the microphone back on it's stand as she and Jin gave a final wave, heading off to the side of the stage and out of view. Not quite sure what to do, Arme turned to Ronan, who was attempting to shake Elesis awake.

"Come on, Elesis! The show's over!" He whispered. She opened her eyes slowly, rubbing them as she looked up.

" 'lready?" She mumbled as she stretched, yawning loudly. Ronan nodded, and the two of them stood up, Arme following a moment after. She felt somewhat odd as she followed the two through the door on the side of the stage, ending up in a small room. Both the pink haired girl and the red haired boy were crashed on the couch, only looking up as the trio came in.

"I'm tired now~" Amy announced, her eyes fluttering back down as she rested her head on the arm rest. Jin rubbed her back for a second before stretching and standing up to look them over.

"So, Elesis. Fell asleep again?" He commented before turning to Arme. "And you may not have noticed, but I think you let in a fan." He stated.

"Hm? Oh, her! No, this is Arme. She's with us." Ronan expained, observing the two exhausted people in front of him.

"I'll explain later. We should get you two home... Amy?"

"I'll carry her!" Jin voulinteered, lifting her into his arms before anyone could protest. Elesis looked at him skeptically.

"You're gonna drop her, you know?" She stated, raising a brow at him. Jin huffed and shook his head.

"I won't, trust me." With that, The group left out a small back door, Arme trailing behind silently.

* * *

Well, that took longer than expected! Was a bit wierd to write... The song Amy sung (spoiler? I'd kinda hope not, but if you didn't know, sorry ._.) on the cassette was 'Colours of the Heart', by Uverworld. You can listen to it here :3 http:// www (dot) youtube (dot) com /watch?v= Kq__es5CFdI

The inspirations for the Amy/Jin dance parts came from the song 'Real Emotion' from FFx-2, and random fight music

Hmm... Can't think of anything else that needs to be said! Comments are loved and suggestions are appreciated, Pie is to appear in the next chapter! (for convenience and plot's sake it couldn't be in here D:)

-Utsuro


	5. Stepping Stones

A/N: It was difficult to decide where to start off this chapter... (Just remembered in the last chapter Arme left the cake in the oven D=)

I haven't gained any control over the GC characters since the last chapter, sorry D=

Chapter 4: Stepping Stones

* * *

They had returned back to the house about half an hour after the show ended, forced to take extra time avoiding the hordes of fans attempting to get to the two who had preformed. They couldn't imagine fans getting their hands on an unconcious Amy would be a good thing, so the group had made it back as quickly as possible. Jin had some questions regarding Arme, though those were quickly pushed off until Elesis and Arme could return from the violet mage guild, where they had needed to rush to. Upon arriving Elena had welcomed Arme inside, where several people sat expectantly, most older than Arme herself. She had partially expected them to shun her for her age, but the group had in fact welcomed her. They had ended up discussing the basics of magic, and she was taught her first simple spell, firebolt. Casting the flame was easy for Arme, but sending it away from her body had been a problem. They had let her go on the basis that she come back every day for the next few weeks.

Upon going back to the house she had stared at the gate for roughly an hour, trying to decide how to get in. The staring hadn't gotten her anywhere, but the yelling and pounding on the gate that followed was a sucess as far as gathering the attention of several of the neighbours and Elesis, who came out to drag her inside. When she entered the kitchen the entire group excluding Lass was sitting at the table, munching on the previous night's left overs and staring at her. The pink haired girl in particular appeared confused, as she had been asleep the previous encounter with the purple haired girl. It had been Ronan who had decided to start the conversation, a small comment of 'So. Lass brought a girl home.' That had the red-headed boy choking on his food, Amy gasping in shock as she stared at Arme, and Arme herself burying her face in her arms on the table so she wouldn't have to look at anyone else. A few moments later Elesis had been the one to clear up the confusion, explaining that Lass had simply found her lost on his way back, seen her potential as a mage, and brought her back. A variation of the actual story, but one Arme didn't quite feel like pointing out at that time.

"Oohh!!! So she's a mage~?" Amy had asked questioningly, leaning forward with a sparkle in her eyes, a large grin on her face.

"Well... Kind of, I guess..." Arme replied hesitantly.

"Show me!!" The other girl demanded. The others simply sighed, most likely used to the pink haired girl's energy. Arme carefully pulled out her staff, and with much concentration she had created a smaller version of the fire ball she had created at the Mage's Guild earlier that day, hovering lightly over the staff.

"You learned that in one day? Woah." Ronan was the only one to comment. She had also learned earlier in the guild that Ronan was one of the few who was able to combine magical skills with melee, and therefore highly respected in both fields. Of all the people in the room, she supposed he would be the one to know the most about difficuly learning magic.

"That's so awsome!!!" Amy cried, clapping her hands gleefully as she watched the flames spiral around and wave in the still air, extinguishing when Arme was no longer certain she would be able to keep it controlled. The rest of the group nodded quietly, and the purple haired girl bowed her head gratefully at the complement.

"How long's she staying with us?" The red haired boy who had been introduced as Jin earlier asked. Elesis looked up thoughtfully at the question.

"We're really not sure... Depending on her progress before we leave town if she wants she might come with us... But that also depends on Lass' opinion. Ryan's too. You guys run into him on the way back?" She asked. Both Amy and Jin shook their heads.

"No, it was a bit too far out of our way, if we went we wouldn't have arrived on time." Amy replied, "But he should be back soon, right?" Ronan and Elesis both sighed at the question, the redhead leaning back in her chair and signalling for Ronan to answer the question.

"Not sure... He said he'd be back by the end of the month. Lass is at the Asassin's Guild, by the way." Ronan added unexpectedly. Arme breathed out of relief as the topic slowly began to move away from her.

"What?! No way! He found all the shards in two weeks?!" the pink haired said, standing up to look at him incredulously. Ronan nodded.

"He ran into a couple problems on the way back though. Gaikoz's soldiers are getting pretty close to the border, we need to head down there after we leave." He explained. Amy frowned.

"Close... How close?"

"Just to the shack we use for when we go to collect the shards... Lucky you, Jin. We'll probably have to build a new one for when you get your Tonfa fragments." Jin gave a small cheer from the side, and Elesis began grumbling. The two redheads stood up simultaneously and Elesis motioned to the door.

"So, ready for a spar?" She asked. Jin nodded, and Ronan stood up as well.

"Mind if I join?" Elesis grinned.

"Yay! You hardly ever spar with us!" She cried, practically dragging the blue haired boy out the door by his arm. As an afterthought, she turned to Amy, "You wanna come too?" She looked apologetically at Arme, though the purple haired girl already understood she would have been in no shape to spar with the others. Amy looked up with her head rested on her folded hands.

"Hm? Nah, not today. I'm still a bit tired." She waved the group off and stood up streching as they went out the door. When they were gone she turned to Arme and smiled.

"So, I heard you can cook!" She said, pulling the purple haired girl to stand with her. Arme nodded lightly.

"Okay, then! Would you mind... Maybe teaching me a bit?" The girl asked quietly.

" I can cook a little, but it's not much. I'd like to be able to cook stuff for my friends that they like!" She smiled. Arme nodded again and the two walked over to the fridge.

"Anything you want to make in particular?" She asked, peering into the freezer. The pink haired girl hesitated.

"Hmm..." She paused for a moment, "Could we make blueberry cheese cake? It's Jin's favourite!" She asked somewhat shyly, a light pink covering her cheeks.

"Yeah, probably!" Arme opened the fridge and confirmed that there were in fact blueberries before turning to Amy.

"Okay, let's get started!" Once the instructions had been laid down by Arme the two girls began rushing around the kitchen, grabbing the required ingredients. It was only once they had begun mixing the ingredients that the purple eyed girl heard the melody the other had been humming. Her eyes were closed as she mouthed the words to her song contentedly, swaying lightly from side to side.

"You have an amazing voice..." Arme murmured, remembering the song on the cassette. The pink haired girl turned to her in shock.

"Oh, that was you listening to the songs!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah." Arme confirmed, "It sounded beautiful... I'm sorry I wasn't able to understand it though..." Amy blinked.

"Ah! It's a language that's kinda gone out of style now, it was used a long time ago in the Xenia continent. I really wanted to learn it, although it took a while... Would you like me to translate for you?" Arme nodded, and Amy took a deep breath.

_"That day, my heart collapsed soundlessly,  
Even though I shout as I break, these unremovable memories,  
And this darkness will flood my eyes...  
I still can't see these colors, so I'll still feel sad tomorrow._

I searched endlessly for the day we could understand one other.  
I'll keep on living now just so that I can lose it.  
It's impossible to be alone, even if I embrace this loneliness.  
If you turn on the lights…  
I will reach for the light.

These feelings we keep hoping for will one day change color  
You said that to the person who keeps going inside my heart.  
Nearly everything is inevitable inside these colors that were born.  
One more time, I am ready to color tomorrow with my hands."

Her voice began to fade out as she looked over at Arme.

"That was a beautiful song, Amy..." She whispered, her closed eyes opening. Another smile settled on the Pink haired girl's face, and she began humming another tune as they continued to work. It was Arme who began the conversation next.

"Umm... Lass leaves randomly a lot...?" She asked quietly, her eyes cast downward as she stared at the bowl in her hands.

"Oh? Yeah, why?" Amy asked, taking the bowl from the purple haired girl as she began to pour it into the cake tin. Arme shook her head.

"No reason! I was just wondering..." Amy stood still for a second as Arme reached over to set the oven temperature, and then she turned to look at the shorter girl.

"Tell you what~ When we finish this cake I'll let you in on a secret you might wanna know!" She winked, preforming a little spin with the pan as she slid it into the oven. Arme blinked confusedly, but didn't bother asking as they returned to the table to wait for the cake to be done. Arme couldn't think of anything to say, so she simply sat there and listened as Amy hummed contentedly. She had almost fallen asleep by the time the small buzzer rang to let them know the cake had finished. Amy shot up out of her seat and ran to the oven, hesitating at the door. She then stood and looked at it as Arme had gotten up out of her seat.

"Do... Do you think it turned out okay?" She questioned, looking anxiously at the purple eyed girl. Arme opened the door and allowed them both to peer in, where a nice looking cake stood waiting.

"It worked! It worked!" The dancer cried, slipping on oven mitts to yank the cake out of the oven. She quickly grabbed a knife and was about to cut into it before Arme stopped her.

"Amy! It needs to cool first!" Arme exclaimed.

"Hm? Really?"

"Yes, really!" Arme said, and the two stepped back, "We can call the others in now though, right?" She asked.

"It'll take about five minutes before the cake can be eaten though..."

"Perfect!" Amy rushed to the door, Arme behind her with no idea why they were running. The door swung open, and Arme was allowed her first proper view of the training area. The large area was mainly filled with dummies, though further out there appeared to be a section where several different terrains lay, as though the land couldn't decide wether to be a desert, forest, or ocean. She could briefly hear yells coming from that area, and the two girls began walking to it. Just before they had walked into the forest they had heard some one yell 'Amy!!'. They turned to see Jin running towards them, though before he could reach them Elesis had flown out of one of the trees and towards the girls, her spear pointed. Her expression was shocked, as though she hadn't expected to see them there. Pulling back her weapon, the red haired girl managed to land right infront of them, Jin getting there a few seconds later.

"You almost hit Amy!" He gasped. Elesis shrugged.

" I didn't though, did I?" She murmured. She then turned into the forest to yell, "Ronan!!! Come out!! Amy and Arme are here!" It was silent for a moment, followed by Ronan decending from the tree directly next to them. He gave a wave to the two girls and went to sit at the base of the tree.

"So? Decided to join our practice?" Jin asked. Amy shook her head.

"No! We made a cake!" She exclaimed. Elesis was the first to begin running towards the house, not stopping to ask questions. Jin was next.

"Elesis, you pig! Get back here! You're gonna eat it all!" He yelled, managing to get closer to Elesis to tackle her to the ground. Amy and Arme followed, Ronan keeping a liesurely pace as war broke out between the two redheads. Arme almost stopped to ask about it, but the other two just kept walking past the battle, entering the house and leaving them outside. As Ronan walked over to the counter, Amy held Arme back.

"Hey! The secret I wanted to tell you!" She leaned closer so she could whisper without Ronan overhearing.

"Lass likes Cherry Pie!" She said quietly, grinning at Arme's confused face.

"Lass... Likes Cherry Pie? Why is it important for me to know that? Hey, why do YOU even know that?" Arme asked, staring at Amy. The pink haired girl smiled.

"I'm sure you'll find a use for that somewhere~ It was on Lass' survey from one of the ones the Knight Master gave us! I kinda took a look at everyone's~" She said, turning around to welcome Elesis and Jin in from the training field. Arme just blinked and wondered what kind of Knight Master would put 'favourite type of pie' on a survey for fighters.

* * *

Lass was back. They had all gone to sleep after the cake, and Arme had been the first to wake up. Decending down the staircase in her pajamas, she had been suprised to find Lass crashed on the couch, his head on the backrest and arms hanging off the sides. On the small table next to the couch were his daggers, and loosely held in one of his hands was some kind of blade. He looked tired, so instead of waking him Arme went into the kitchen to begin preparing the breakfast she was certain would soon be demanded. It was when she had begun putting pancake batter in the pan that Lass had entered the room, his feet shuffling across the floor and his hand rubbing his eyes. In his right hand the blade was clasped more firmly.

"Welcome back!" She called, turning to him to hand the first plate of finished pancakes. Mumbling some sort of unheard response, he accepted the plate and walked over to the table. Once the plate had been put down, Lass rested his head on the table to just stare at the food, clearly lacking the energy and motivation to eat. Arme only noticed once she had finished preparing food and was setting the table.

"Hey! Don't sleep on the table!" The purple haired girl said, poking his head in an attempt to get him to move. When nothing happened, she sighed and picked up his fork. Cutting a piece of his pancakes, she stuck one in his mouth, watching as he slowly made ate the piece.

"See? It's not poisoned or anything!" She said, realizing shortly after how suspicious that sounded. It didn't seem to bother Lass, though he still made no attempt to move. He simply opened his mouth when he was finished, his eyes still closed. Arme hesitated before offering another piece, which he promptly ate. This was how Arme unknowingly began feeding Lass his breakfast, and this was how Elesis found them five minutes later, when she bursted down the staircase following the smell of food.

"Yay!!!-- Lass, you're back!!!" She exclaimed, running over and promptly jabbing him in the cheek. Lass made no acknowledgement of the girl, and continued chewing his breakfast.

"Fine! Ignore me!" Elesis said, turning to one of the chairs and sitting in it. As she heaped the pancakes onto her plate, she glanced up at Arme.

"Don't feed him, you're encouraging him!" She exclaimed when she noticed Arme cutting the pancakes up. Arme looked down at the somewhat dead looking Lass and back up to Elesis.

"Elesis... Is he sick or something?" She asked, ignoring the previous comment and feeding Lass another piece.

"Sick? Nope. The Assassin's guild leader just doesnt like him or something like that. He gets worked so hard there that whenever he comes back, Lass is like this." She explained. Arme could hear some noise in the floor above her, and assumed the others were beginning to get up.

"Wow..."

"Yeah, he doesn't visit his guild much. Could just be because he's from Grand Chase though, we all get worked harder than the rest of our guilds for it." Elesis said leaning onto the table. A moment later Ronan was in the kitchen, observing the group at the table.

"Lass is back." He stated, walking over. In stead of taking a seat, he pulled the sword from Lass' loose grip to inspect it, Lass not bothering to make any notice of the action. Almost as soon as he picked it up Ronan dropped it on the table, staring at it. Confused, Elesis picked it up and balanced it in her hand.

"Lass, this is way heavier than your daggers! Are you gonna be able to fight with this thing?" She asked, wandering over into the other room and returning with the pair of daggers balanced in one hand. The silver haired boy finally made a move, lifting his head off the table and stretching back in his chair.

"Yeah, I'll be fine..." He yawned. He looked at Arme for a moment.

"Hm... Thanks. Did you go see the guild yet?" He asked, getting up to snatch the blade from Elesis.

"Yeah, I took her! You talk to her but not me or Ronan?" Elesis complained lightly, the smirk on her face giving away her actual lack of anger. Lass sighed and twisted the sword in his hand, not bothering to retort as he walked out the back door to the training area.

"As conversational as ever..." The redhead murmured between forkfuls of her pancakes.

"He's like that all the time?" Arme asked, looking at the door he had just departed from.

"Yup~!" Everyone turned to look at the staircase, where a very energetic Amy was, dragging a very tired Jin behind her. They joined the group at the table when they got into the room.

"What's on the schedule for today?" The pink haired girl asked, looking over the others. Ronan appeared to concentrate for a moment before answering.

"Elesis and I were going to pick up our necklaces from Elena then go check on the villages near the border to see if there have been any attacks. Lass' schedule will probably consist of practicing his new weapon and sleeping, and Arme has to go visit the Mage Guild." He said.

"What? That's no fun!" Amy cried, splaying her arms out on the table infront of her. Jin gently tapped her shoulder.

"Amy, you have to practice for your violin concert tonight anyways, remember?" He said, causing Amy to turn over and stare at him.

"Oh yeah! I forgot!" She exclaimed, grinning. Arme stared at her.

"Another concert tonight? How many concerts do you do, Amy?" she questioned.

" Alot! We only really stop travelling for about a month at a time, so in that time I need to get as many concerts done as possible." Amy explained. Jin nodded.

"I don't normally take part in the shows, but for this town we normally put on a special preformance because it's where our main home is."

"Ah..." Arme murmured, "I think I'm gonna go look around a bit before leaving to the guild, okay?" She said, walking away and leaving her pancakes on her plate. She walked up and into the room she was staying in, resting on the bed. She turned on her side and reached for the magic book, looking at the odd letters for a few more frustrating moments before giving up. She had tried several times to understand the images, but nothing gave away how to make the spells shown. Arme let out a frustrated sigh before putting the book down and changing into her outfit. When she was changed, she went over to the window,. Though it was mostly the training ground, she could also see a rather large lake that lay beyond, making the view appealing. _The training ground!_ Her eyes began searching through the many rows of dummies and the large terrain areas, finally settling upon who she had been looking for. Lass was standing in the midst of several dummies, the sword taking large chunks out of the dummies it cut through. She simply watched for a while. _They all train really hard..._ Arme thought remembering the several times Elesis had went out training since she had arrived.

Pushing away from the window she wandered into the hallway, where the melody of a violin could be heard filling the air. The purple haired girl listened for a moment before going downstairs into the abandoned kitchen. She walked over to the door and stood for a moment before hesitantly pushing it open. Even though Lass was a large distance away from her at that point, she could see him look towards her for a moment before looking back at the dummies without faltering in his attacks. Arme walked a bit closer, to the point where she was pretty certain she wouldn't be cut open by an accidental swing in the wrong direction, before sitting down on the grass. She still had her staff on her, so she held it out infront of her a small ammount before concentrating on circulating her mana. Once the staff had lit up, she conjured the flame again. With less people around she felt more free, as though she wouldn't have to worry about burning anyone.

The flickering flame was less noticable in the daytime, but still substantial enough that Arme could keep an eye on it. Focusing a bit more energy, she made the flame a slightly larger. Pushing the flame away was the difficult part, but she tried anyway and was pleasantly suprised to find she could control it until it was three dummies away from her, where it flickered out quietly. Excitedly, she summoned another ball of flame, which got to about the same distance before dissapearing. Another idea came to mind, and Arme made another fire ball. Instead of trying to push it away from her body, she stood up and began walking away, keeping her eyes trained on the flame. The flame didn't go out until she realized she had hit the house, her back making contact with the wall and making her loose focus. At that point she realized the trick was visualizing the spot where the flame would go. To keep it in one spot was simple, but to think the path of the flame without any gaps in concentration was throwing her off.

This in mind, Arme sat back in the spot where she had been previously, the grass warm from the heat of the fire. Understanding the basic ideas of the flame made it much easier to control, and the next flame she summoned was able to get almost eight dummies away from her before dispersing. Satisfied with the improvement, Arme closed her eyes and wondered what else she could try to do. The first thing that came to mind was the shield from the first day she had arrived, that had protected her from being attacked. Her eyes squinted shut as she tried to envision the shield surrounding and protecting her, the odd green colour and the light white symbol on the front of it. Envisioning what she wanted to create seemed to work the best; when she opened her eyes she was surrounded by the familiar green light.

_I wonder how much it can take? _She though. _Well, I could always ask someone to attack me..._ The thought seemed to unnerve her, even though she doubted they would actually go to hurt her. She then remembered Lass was also in the training area, and looked over to where he was fighting. To her suprise Lass was no longer swinging his sword, he was simply leaning against one of the training dummies and staring at her. When he saw her gaze he stood up properly and stretched, walking the short distance over to her and kneeling down next to her.

"You have to go to the Mage Guild soon?" He questioned. Arme nodded, reaching out with her staff to create a new flame ball. This one she sent near Lass, making wide circles around him. The silver haired boy watched it for a moment, until it dispersed unexpectedly. Arme blinked, a light blush coming to her cheeks.

"I don't have it all down yet..." She murmured. Lass shrugged.

"Learning to use a weapon is difficult." He said, standing up again. Once up, he grabbed her arm and pulled her up with him. She stared at him confusedly as they began walking to the house.

"Lass! Where are we going?"

"You said you have to go soon." He responded as they entered the kitchen, heading to the front door. "And I don't really trust you can make it from here to there without being picked up by a creep if you don't have an escort." In the front hall he took his own jacket from the coatrack and threw it at her, opening the door and leaving no room for a protest. Following, she threw the jacket around her shoulders. They arrived at the fence, and Lass somehow managed to balance Arme in one hand and the Simitar in the other, getting them over the fence. When they landed on the ground on the other side of the fence Lass put her down, Arme staring at the sword.

"How heavy is that thing, anyway?" She asked. Without answering, he held out the blade for her to take. Once the blade was in her hand her knees buckled immediately, her whole body falling under the weight of the blade. She managed to stand back up with it, holding it precariously about a foot away from the ground. After a second Lass took the blade back, swinging it over his shoulder. Arme gaped at him as they continued walking.

"I know I'm not exactly strong, but how do you even carry that thing?!" She cried.

"I'm stronger than I look, and the simitar is a good weapon." He answered, not offering any further explanation. It was then that Arme looked around, her arm still firmly in Lass' grip. She noticed that all the people on the street had turned to look at them, none bothering to make their stare discreet. She pulled at the edge of Lass' shirt quietly.

"I think people are staring..." She whispered urgently, the eyes of the town people making her uncomfortable. The silver haired boy chuckled lightly.

"No, really? You've been seen with a member of the Grand Chase every day for the last three days, people are obviously going to begin suspecting things. If you do become a member, you'll have to get used to this." Arme was silent for a moment.

"I was told that was a decision for everyone to make... Lass? Do you want me to join?" She questioned quietly, her voice timid. Lass continued walking without giving an answer, leading them to the guild. Arme carefully watched their surroundings, trying to memorize the path from the house to the guild and ignore the slowly sinking feeling she was getting in her stomache. Unable to focus, she let her eyes wander to the ground as she was led blindly by Lass. She hardly noticed when they stopped walking, the door of the guild in sight. Releasing her arm, Lass turned away and began walking, stopping only for a second.

"I think things would be more... Interesting with you around." She heard, but by the time she turned around Lass was already gone.

* * *

Returning home, Arme stared defiantly at the gate.

"I can do this!" She said to noone in particular, thinking back on that day's lesson.

_"Arme, I'm sure you've been having a bit of trouble with the gate infront of the Grand Chase house, so today we're going to teach you how to teleport!"_

_"Teleport? Isn't that... Dangerous?"_

_"Dangerous? No, ofcourse not! Since the body and soul are attached, unlike some believe, there is no danger of your body being moved in one place and your soul being left in another. What there is, however, is the danger of teleporting yourself to the wrong location. It works by thought of a specific location, so as long as you can picture where you want to go and it isn't too far away, there shouldn't be a problem. Since it works on absolute location, you cannot use directions such as 'I want to appear next to Elesis' unless you know Elesis' exact location. You must also not be confused about which location you want to go to because it takes alot of energy to preform, and if you end up in an unfavourable place there's no gurantee you can teleport yourself out. These are some of the base stepping stones for a mage, but still, the spells I'm showing you may be difficult!" _

_"Eccelent, Arme! Three sucessful teleports in a row!"_

_"It seemed simple enough..."_

_"Passing through solid objects may be more difficult though, so be careful!"_

"Just... Picture the other side of the gate... The door, even!" Arme opened her eyes to get a view of the door as she was teleporting for a more accurate idea of where she was going when a flicker of colour from the side of her vision caught her eyes.

* * *

"Lass, this isn't funny! Get me down!!!" Arme cried from the top of the extremely tall wall surrounding the house, the small cat that had caught her attention purring contentedly as it rubbed its head on her lap. She had been out there for half an hour when Lass had noticed her, just as he was going outside to train more with the simitar. He had come over and stared at her, and Arme was almost certain he was about to run inside and tell everyone else to come out and stare at her too. He slowly shook his head and sighed.

"How did you get up there?!" He called back, looking at her amusedly. Her grip on the ledge tightened.

"I was trying to teleport through the fence! Please, Lass! I'm afraid of heights!" She cried back down, her eyes squinting shut.

_"Hm? You shoulda said that sooner."_ Arme's eyes flew open suddenly, and she realized Lass was sitting next to her, leaning close as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"It's a pretty far drop, you might wanna close your eyes." He advised quietly, lifting her into both of his arms as he stood up on the fence. She did as he said, and opened her eyes again only once she felt the impact of landing on the ground. Lass set her down and turned back to the training area without a word, giving a slight wave. She watched after him then walked into the house, more determined than ever to learn how to teleport properly. _He seems to end up carrying me around alot..._ She thought as she walked through the kitchen, stopping for a second as her eyes hooked onto the a second she just stared at it, and then, without much though, she opened one of the cupboards and pulled out a pie tin.

Lass entered the house hours later, completely exhausted and with the full intent to fall asleep as soon as he got to his room. As he was about to leave the kitchen something on the kitchen counter caught his eye. Walking over to the counter lazily, the blue eyed boy's eyes widened when he saw a small note resting on top of a pie.

_Thanks~ Arme_

_P.S. Don't eat this, Elesis!_

He grabbed a plate from the cupboard and cut a slice of the pie for himself, sitting at the table and sticking a piece in his mouth.

"Cherry, huh?"

* * *

A/N: Not really how I was expecting this chapter to turn out, and I'm pretty sure when I read it over some of the sentences are going to be really badly structured, but oh well~ This was really late, so I owe it to you guys to update!

And PLEASE! If you like LassxArme (which I'm assuming you do if you've made it to chapter four of this story), please check out this site!

http:// lassxarme .piczo .com/ (without the spaces)

It's a good site, and alot of people put alot of work into it!

Aside from that, we all know that reviews make for motivated writers! If you have the time I'd love to hear what you think of the story!

-Utsuro


	6. The Morning's Melody

A/N: And thus another chapter is added =3 (Arme left a note on the pie for Elesis not to eat it while elesis wasn't even home =O)

As usual, I don't own grand chase! I'll be sure to let you know if anything changes about that =3

Chapter 5: The Morning's Melody

* * *

When Arme woke up in the morning, her first thought was on wether or not Ronan and Elesis had come back the previous night. Unable to remember, Arme threw on her clothes and wandered into the hallway where the Grand Chase member's rooms were. Fortunately enough, these had plaques on the doors, so Arme was able to navigate through the hall and find the proper room without embarrasing herself by walking into the wrong person's room. She quickly sighted the room with the Elesis plaque, as it was the first to her left. Pushing the door open slowly, Arme was granted with the sight of a red colour schemed room and no person in sight. The room was messy, clothes scattered across the floor and several different swords leaning up against the far wall. To her suprise, there was also a rather large stack of books next to the bed, one leaning over the nightstand haphazardly.

_Ronan's probably not back yet either..._ The purple haired girl thought, closing the door behind her as she exited into the hallway She walked through the hallways more slowly as she made her way to the kitchen, idly wondering what was going on in the real world. _Is this normal for a dream...? Probably not. _If it was normal for a dream to be like this, Arme concluded that alot more people would want to never wake up_. Well, normal or not, there's no point in worrying about it! _Nodding in agreeance with the thought as she entered the kitchen, she walked over to the fridge to take out the leftovers of the previous day's pancakes. She also noted with a small smile that the pie she had made was in there, one piece out of it. There was no microwave, so they needed to be heated up by pan. Humming softly as the pancakes heated up, Arme wondered what was on her schedule for the day. The guild was a requirement, but Elena said the practice would be short, so it would most likely only take a couple hours out of her day. The rest could be spent... Arme shrugged, deciding to figure that out when the time came.

The pancakes done, Arme sat down and leisurely ate, still managing to finish before anyone else decended from the stairs. Stretching, she walked out into the training ground, passing the training area and itting down next to the large lake visible from her room. Everything around her was quiet, though the chirping of a bird or splash from the water occasionally stirred the silence. It was peaceful, and a view she had never been able to experience as a child, her parents had never wanted her to leave the house unnecessarily. Resting her head on her knees, she was almost ready to fall asleep again when she heard footsteps coming from behind her.

"Nice morning, huh?" The person sat next to her, and she turned over to see Amy, her long pink pigtails in swirls on either side of her head, and a violin resting in her hand on the other side of her. She smiled at Arme and turned her head back to look at the lake.

"Ah! Good morning, Amy!" After a moment Arme's eyes were drawn to the violin, and she remembered the music she had heard in the hallway before going to the training area the previous day. She gestured to it timidly.

"May I hear you play?" She asked quietly. Amy nodded.

"Of course!" The violin was raised gingerly into her arms, the bow resting on the strings as the pink haired girl thought. Arme was beginning to wonder if she was actually planning on playing when the bow made a sudden movement, the cresendoing sound swirling around her. When it was almost too loud the sound made a jump, the quiet quality coming back. Several new notes joined and left the sound, creating a melody both complex and suprisingly simple. She looked towards the violin player, her eyes closed and her mouth ever so slightly open, and saw more than the Amy she had seen when she had first met the pink haired girl. Infront of her was a girl with intelligence surpassing the average person, hidden behind smiles and cheerful words. This was a person who had hopes, and had seen pain. Everything was so clearly portrayed in the sound of the violin it almost made her cry, her head ending up resting on her knees. Within a minute the music had stopped, and a hand was resting on her back.

"Arme? Arme, are you okay?" She asked worriedly, "I'm sorry. I guess I put too much into that..." The purple haired girl looked up, a smile making its way to her face.

"No, it was beautiful! I've just never had a chance to hear anything like that before... It was so sad..." She murmured, stretching a little as she leaned back on the grass. Amy laughed lightly.

"It was really the only thing I could do as a child... I wasn't allowed to go out much. This and singing were the only ways I could express myself... Dancing too, but I even had to stop that for a while..." Arme blinked, turning to look at the other girl.

"You... Weren't allowed to go out much?" A nod, then Amy's eyes widened in shock.

"Well, yeah, but it was nothing much! Just a couple medical problems! I'm all better now!" She grinned, pulling Arme up to stand before she could ask anything else. Sensing her discomfort on the subject, Arme took the mercy of changing the topic.

"Amy, you're a part of the Grand Chase, right?" She questioned.

"Mm-hmm!"

"Well, how do you fight?" She asked. Amy seemed excited, and dragged her over to the dummie area. When they reached it, Amy motioned for her to stand a fair bit away from the dummy. When Amy was satisfied Arme was far enough away she placed the bow lightly on the strings. Arme's eyes widened; as the pink haired played, musical notes physically floated off the violin's strings, floating up and down as they made their way towards the 'enemy'. Once reaching they exploded, each taking a small chunk out of the mannequin as she stomped her heel into the ground, causing a burst of sound to eminate from her. As the sound wave reached the doll it caused the head to explode, small pieces of fluff flying everywhere. Apparently not finished, Amy lifted the violin's bow into the air, swirling it around in a circle. A flute fell from the air where Amy's bow was pointed, followed by a trumpet, followed by a tambourine, followed by a drum, followed by...

"A PIANO?!?!?!" Arme gawked at the grand piano as it fell from seemingly nowhere, crushing the doll entirely. Amy waved her over.

"Yup! It disappears after a moment anyway!" She said joyfully, and as predicted the instruments were beginning to fade, leaving the crushed dummy behind.

"And that," Amy motioned to the dummy, "Is how you kill something with music." The purple haired girl simply blinked at Amy, trying to comprehend what had just happened. The next thing she knew, Amy was next to her, waving her hand in her face.

"Hey! Arme! It's not really anything special!! Ronan can summon a Dragon, Ryan can turn into a wolf... A piano isn't really that amazing~" She explained, patting Arme on the head.

"Well, I think I'm gonna stay out here for a while and practice my spells, wanna join me?" Arme asked. Amy shook her head, leaning back on an undamaged dummy.

"I'm gonna go see if Jin is awake yet!" She exclaimed as she turned around to walk back to the house. Arme waved lightly, staring in confusion when Amy stopped to look back at her.

"I see you found a use for the secret I told you! She called. Arme flushed as she watched the pink haired girl walk away, recalling the pie in the fridge and completely unable to deny that she had made it for Lass; not even certain why the thought that someone knew she had made the cherry pie for Lass made her flustered. She shook her head quickly and sighed, waiting for the warmth in her cheeks to go down a bit before she began practicing.

"You're up early." Or not. Arme quickly turned to see Lass leaning lazily over one of the dummies, his simitar held in his hand and his eyes locked on her. She could feel her cheeks heating up even more and sighed in defeat, not bothering to cover up the fact. Fortunately, Lass either didn't notice or ignored it.

"Y-yeah... I woke up about an hour ago." She recalled, watching as his eyes moved off her to eye the destroyed dummy questioningly.

"That was Amy. With a piano." She felt the need to add, in case any confusion over the dummy should arise. Lass nodded knowingly as he stood up straight, walking over to it.

"Yeah, the week Amy learned to be a muse was pretty rough on all of us in the training area, especially Jin." He said, inspecting the damage.

"Especially Jin?" She questioned. Lass nodded.

"Yeah, they train together alot. Elesis and Jin train together often as well, but it's because they used to get along really badly when Jin first joined. Now they spar because they're used to fighting each other." He explained, standing up again and waving as he turned around to go back to the house.

"You're not gonna train today?" She called after him, the only indication of his answer the slight shake of his head. When he was in the house again Arme started her practice, the previous day's failure keeping her from trying to teleport too far.

* * *

Arme lay exhaustedly on the ground, certain she had been out for a good few hours. Amy and Jin had passed by some time ago, waving at her as they headed towards the terrained training area. She could hear them exchanging blows if she listened, but couldn't be bothered to focus, let alone listen. She briefly remembered Elena telling her how much energy teleporting took up, and she was beginning to realize just what the blue haired mage had meant. She had teleported... At least 50 times now? Her head was beginning to spin as she struggled to stand up, remembering her meeting with the guild. She felt confident when her legs didn't fail her as she stood, requiring minimal support from the mannequins to reach the back door. Once inside she was able to make it to the front hall where she was suprised to find Lass, holding out the light blue jacket toward her. He stared at her oddly as she frustratedly tried to shove her arms through the sleeves of the too-large jacket. When she managed to get it on Lass opened the front door, walking through it and turning back to watch as she made her way through. Her sights instantly locked on the gate as she saw it, and she ran over excitedly.

"Lass! Go to the other side!" She called.

"Hmm? Sure." He walked over to her and was about to lift her up when she shook her head quickly. Quickly realizing she didn't want to be picked up, Lass jumped over the fence and landed on the other side, waiting to see her move. For a moment Arme stood still, gently resting on the gate; she then leaned back up and took a few steps back. Lass almost certainly thought she was crazy as she began running toward the gate, though he didn't move, which she was grateful for. Closing her eyes a moment before she hit the gate she grinned lightly when she felt herself bump into not the harsh metal of the gate, but the soft front of Lass' shirt on the other side.

"I did it!" She exclaimed, pushing away from Lass to unsteadily stand on her own. She was more than suprised to find his hand enclosing around her wrist, lightly pulling her back to him. When she was close enough he lifted her up into his arms, and began to walk. Arme blinked a moment before comprehending what had happened.

"Wait! Lass, put me down!" She requested frustratedly, her energy levels not allowing for much of a struggle. Eventually her head fell on his chest as she finally gave up, quietly admitting defeat.

"You'll fall if I put you down, you know." He murmured, Arme hardly listening.

"B-but there are alot of people... On the way to the guild..." She commented half-heartedly.

"And do I really seem like I care what they think?" He asked, his pace staying the same even though she was partially aware they were now in the more central area of town, where the citizens were certain to notice them.

"Well, no, but..." her argument ran out mid-sentence as she resigned herself to resting. Some conversations could be heard further away, though she didn't bother listening to them; it was obvious that she would be the topic. Everything seemed to get quiet, and the next thing she could comprehend was Lass whispering "We're here.". The purple haired girl opened her eyes slowly, holding onto Lass as a support when he placed her on the ground. Before either could knock Elena had opened the door.

"Lass-Sama! Thank you for escorting Arme here! We have a meeting in the afternoon, so she'll be done in a couple of hours." She said politely, ushering Arme in as she surveyed the silver haired boy confusedly. He didn't say anything in return, simply turning around and quickly walking out of sight. The two girls watched him dissapear before walking further into the guild home. Upon entering the practice room Arme dully waved to the several other mages in the room who were casting and summoning several different things; a common sight. Some waved back and others ignored her, the novelty of a new member worn off. Today Elena led Arme outside and into the large back field the guild offered, where fewer magicians resided.

"So, Arme! Have you been practicing the teleportation technique I showed you?" Elena asked cheerily, keeping her eyes on the purple haired girl. Arme nodded, too tired to do much else.

"Alrighty, then! Let's practice!"

* * *

Everyone turned to the door as Arme stumbled into the kitchen a few hours later, not bothering to say a word and acending the staircase to her room. When inside she collapsed on her bed, her face landing on the pillows unevenly. She refused to move, and was almost asleep when a small knock at the door stirred her.

"Come in..." She murmured as loudly as possible without moving. The door was flung open immediately, and Arme felt the bed move as someone else sat down on it.

"Arme? You okay?" Oh, Elesis. With effort, Arme managed to roll onto her side to see the redhead.

"Yeah, just tired... When did you get back?" Elesis contemplated her answer for a second before responding.

"Well, we finished yesterday but had to make a stop, so we only made it back about an hour ago. Ronan's a part of the Royal Guard Masters, so we can hardly go anywhere without being called for a meeting of some sort." Elesis chuckled lightly, and Arme looked up at her.

"You said you were going to check out... The border, right? How was it?" The redhead shrugged.

"The fragment collection shack was totaled, but the soldiers were completely withdrawn... It's like they weren't even headed for the town. There were no left over soldiers in the shack either, so we'll have to assume that wasn't their goal either... We really have no idea what was going on, so we're going to have to assume it was a freak accident." She said uninterestedly, ignoring the questioning look Arme was giving her. They both went silent, and Arme rested her head back on her arms.

Elesis looked at her for a moment and stood up, reaching over for the book on the bedside table. She flipped through the first pages silently, allowing Arme to almost doze back to sleep before she commented.

"This looks like it has some pretty useful stuff in it... Read it yet?" Arme managed to roll around just enough to give a shake of her head.

"Nope. I can't." Elesis stared at her confusedly.

"You.. Can't?"

"No. It's in a... Wierd language..."She replied, sitting up to look over Elesis' shoulder at the pages.

"You can't read Beremesian... Hold on a second." Elesis handed her the book and turned to the exit, leaving Arme staring at her as she walked away. Resolving that she wasn't going to be getting any sleep any time soon, Arme began leafing through the pages slowly, still looking for anything that seemed familiar. None of the letters seemed to make sense no matter how much she stared at them, only seeming to be more and more confusing as she stared at them.

"Arme?" She turned around to look at the door and realized Elesis had returned without her noticing, a confused looking Amy standing behind her. The two came to sit on the bed, Amy picking the book from Arme's hands.

"Amy's better than me with languages, she might be able to help you a bit." Elesis mentioned, the pink haired girl nodding. It was at this that Arme sat up, Finally eager for the chance to get an understanding of what was written everywhere. When she was certain Arme was interested, Elesis stood up and waved.

"Well, I'm not going to be much help here, reading's not my thing. I'm gonna go see what Ronan's up to..." She said, closing the door silently behind her. Amy nodded and turned towards Arme, Holding the book so it was between them.

"This is going to be a bit... Confusing, but Bermesian really isn't all that complicated. Once I show you the first bit you'll pick up quickly!" She exclaimed. Leaving the book on the bed Amy wandered over to the dresser, opening the first drawer. She returned with two pencils and some paper, handing half of the supplies to Arme.

"I'm thinking I have a hunch, and if I'm right you'll only need to learn the letters. What language do you speak originally?"

"Hm... English, but I'm guessing you don't use that here..." To Arme's suprise, Amy shook her head.

"We used to, actually. It's called Old Bermesian now, but all the word orders are the same. Someone just decided to change all the letters a while ago, so... Mind writing out the Alphabet for me?" Arme nodded, and with a practiced ease she wrote out the twenty-seven letters. When she finished Amy took the paper from her, quickly scribbling something down on it. When she handed it back, Arme was able to clearly see twenty-seven symbols next to her letters.

"And once you learn the symbols, all you really need to learn are words that aren't used in English!" As Arme took the chance to re-write all the symbols on her own paper, she spared a glance at Amy.

"Amy? How did you know I would speak english?" She questioned quietly, watching as the pink haired girl stiffened. She slowly turned to face Arme, an off-looking smile on her face.

"Oh, that? I figured if you didn't know Bermesian you would know Old Bermesian, everyone seems to know one or the other... Aside from that, I promised Jin we'd go see a show today, so I have to go!" She stood up quickly, putting the book and paper aside as she rushed from the room. Arme stared after her for a moment, and then back at the book. Deciding to think on Amy's wierd behaviour later, she opened to the first page of the magic book and began translating the letters over.

"Chapter one... Mana and... The principles of Magic...." She read aloud as she began translating the second line. After a couple more lines she flipped through it, sighing at the immense size of the book.

"This is going to take a while..."

"So what, you have a reading problem? Hm, you seemed like a book worm to me." Arme gave a yelp of suprise and quickly turned to look at the door. To her suprise noone was in the door way, so she spun around again, only to notice Lass hanging upside down outside her window.

"Lass!" She exclaimed loudly as he slid the window open and allowed himself inside, "Do you have some kind of problem with letting people know when you show up!?" Lass shrugged.

"I let you know when I figured it was important." He replied as he straightened his hair out; It had apparently become messed from hanging upside down. Arme frowned at him lightly, not really upset but not wanting him to continue showing up at random times.

"How long have you been there?!" She demanded, causing a sigh from Lass.

"Only a few minutes. How much spare time do you think I have?"

"That's not the point here! What if I was changing or something?!"

"Then I would have walked in through the front door and up the stairs like you seem to prefer." He responded, leaning against the wall.

"Why don't you just do that in the first place, instead of coming in through the window?!" Arme stood up, leaving the book on the bed as she walked closer to Lass.

"It's your own fault for being so damn unobservant and leaving your blinds open!" He yelled back frustratedly, his voice getting louder. Arme finally went quiet, her eyes pointed toward the floor. _I don't want to be fighting with him... _She looked up at Lass quickly, though he wasn't looking back at her. He had directed his gaze at the wall and was glaring as though he might see something more than the calm purple paint. The silence continued on for a few minutes; Lass was the one to break it.

"Sorry. I just came to say that you're not going to the guild tomorrow, Elesis sent a letter to the Knight Master and she wants to meet you." With that, Lass pushed away from the wall and walked out of the room silently, the door sliding smoothly shut behind him. Arme stared after him for a moment, half contemplating following after him to apologize, but also realizing that he had enough speed to keep her away if he didn't want to deal with her, which he probably didn't at the moment. She let out a breath she had been holding and walked back over to the bed, curling up on it. The book lay forgotten on the covers as she made her way under the sheets, not wanting to deal with anything else that particular day.

* * *

As was quickly becoming common, Arme woke up the first the next morning. She realized drowsily that she hadn't changed clothes the previous night, which was followed by the memory of her and Lass' quarrel. She sighed again as she rolled out of bed, not wanting to get up. She also abruptly remembered that she hadn't prepared dinner either, and hoped someone had been able to make something. As she walked down the stairs she decided to make Amy her cooking apprentice, if the pink haired girl would agree. Someone needed to be there to prepare food if she wasn't, or if she didn't want to.

When the morning's breakfast of french toast was in the pan the first of the Grand Chase began to wake up, Elesis quite predictably being the first one to leap down the stair case. She smiled as she noticed the redhead enter the kitchen, still somehow maintaining her energy during the ungodly hours of the morning. Rushing over to watch Arme cook Elesis leaned onto the counter, her head barely resting against the cool surface.

"You're going to visit Knight Master with Lass today, right?" She commented loudly. Arme stopped moving for a moment, then turned to look at Elesis.

"W-with... Lass?" A nod.

"He told you, right? I asked him to yesterday..." The purple haired girl nodded slowly, her eyes focusing on the frying pan. _Will Lass even speak to me today? Though... It wasn't really much of a fight, I shouldn't be worried about it. _She felt slightly more resolved as the first of the French toast was placed on a plate, Elesis hastily snatching it up.

"You're going to have to leave pretty soon, then. The castle's pretty far away, if you're lucky you'll make it back before night." She commented, waving to the Ronan and Jin as they entered the kitchen. The two waved back and patiently went to sit at the table with Elesis, waiting for the rest of the pancakes to finish. Aside from some small conversation at the table nothing much was said, everyone simply watching as Arme finished the cooking. She came to join them with the rest of the food when she finished cooking, though no conversation was started.

"Morning." Another greeting was issued, and everyone turned in suprise to see Lass entering the kitchen and taking a seat at the table.

"Hey, Lass! You don't eat breakfast with us often!" Elesis exclaimed, leaning forward to stare at him over her plate. The assassin shrugged, turning to look at Arme.

"Ready to go after breakfast?" He asked lazily, spinning the food around on his plate but not seeming to actually be eating.

"Y-yeah, I think so." She said. With her confirmation, Lass turned to Elesis and Ronan.

"How was the report on the border?" The two looked at each other, Ronan eventually the one to answer.

"Lass, nothing was going on there at all... The shack was completely destroyed, but other than that, the soldiers completely withdrew. At this point we can't assume much. The best guess we have is that they were on a Reconnaissance mission, but they didn't get close enough to the actual border that they would be able to collect some actual information. Maybe you scared them off?" As Arme looked around she realized that everyone seemed frustrated with this conclusion.

"Is it... A bad thing that they retreated?" Elesis shook her head.

"It's not bad, really. Just confusing. As far as we've seen, enemies don't move in masses like that for nothing." She explained quietly, her plate finished off.

"So, what are we going to do about it?" Jin asked through a mouthful of french toast. Amy entered the kitchen as Elesis responded.

"Nothing. What's there to do? We should ask Knight Master to tighten the security over there though, just in case."

"I'll ask while we're over there today." Lass said, standing up and leaving his half eaten plate beind. Arme followed suit, having just finished.

"You'll need to bring your staff, to get to Serdin Castle we'll need to pass through the planes. I'll be waiting at the front gate when you're ready." Arme watched as Lass left the room, then walked up the stairs to her room where her staff was lying on the dresser. _He didn't seem mad... _She sighed in relief as she picked up the staff, the cool handle held tightly in her hand. She watched the familiar light-up of the orange orb and felt comforted again; everything would be fine. Especially after learning a new spell yesterday, as Elena had guessed she might be doing some offensive fighting soon. She mouthed a thank you to her blue-haired mentor before rushing downstairs and grabbing the blue jacket that was steadily becoming more hers than Lass'. As promised, the silver haired boy was standing outside next to the gate. He looked up at her as she exited the house, quickly jumping over to the other side of the gate. She followed after a moment, transporting through with ease. Once on the other side Lass took the lead, not bothering to grab her arm as they walked through the town. Less and less villagers were staring at her, the purple haired girl becoming less of a phenominon.

"So, who is the 'Knight Master'? Why does she want to see me?" Arme asked, deciding to start a conversation. Lass answered after a delay.

"The Knight Master is the one who put together the Grand Chase. She oversees all new members, and as a potential member she wants to meet you."

"Everyone? So you mean... There isn't like... A Mage Master or Thief Master or anything?" This comment earned a small laugh from Lass, and a shake of his head.

"Nope. She also oversees most of the troupes for the queen too, so we go to her when we need reenforcements to be sent somewhere, like now." Satisfied with the explanation, Arme was silent until they reached the exit of the town, the large gate overlooking a field. Completely rested, Arme was able to see the various monsters scattered around, though there didn't seem to be many.

"Do we need to fight those?" She asked, pointing to a group of goblin-like monsters. Lass peered over in the direction she was pointing and twirled the simitar in his hand.

"Orcs... Normally we'd leave fights like that for the weaker troupes to fight off, but they might be good practice. Let's go!" With that they began running towards the small green enemies, Lass ahead of Arme yet still considerably slower due to the weight of his new weapon. Casting a shield around herself, Arme began to conjure fire balls, while Lass simply sliced through them. Most had been wiped out when the magician noticed a group of the orcs sneaking up on Lass, not enough to injure him, but still enough to be annoying.

"Stone curse!" Arme grinned as Lass turned around to see the several stoned monsters behind him, a small wave from her to indicate that Yes, she had learned a new spell. He cut through the stone figures before walking over to her.

"How'd it go for your first real fight?"

"Is that all?" Arme smiled lightly, then looked over at the planes.

"Wait... How far do we have to go?"

"Pretty far. See the forest over there? It's past that." Arme groaned as Lass pointed somewhere past the horizon.

"And we're walking the whole way?"

"Hm... If you want to make it there by tomorrow morning. Otherwise, we'll need to run." Another sigh from Arme. She glanced at Lass before beginning to run toward the direction indincated, the silver haired boy catching up quickly.

"And you're okay with running the entire day?" Arme sighed, and nodded her head.

"Not like I really have much of a choice." They continued running in silence for another few minutes before Lass unexpectedly stepped infront of her and stopped, effectively stopping her as well. When she stared at him he was quiet, speaking a few seconds later.

"You're not used to running, are you?"

"Well... No, not really." She breathed, slightly exhausted from the run. He stared at her for another moment, then kneeled down.

"Get on my back, I'll carry you."

"W-What?! No! I can-- You already carry me around often enough--"

"It's not a problem. If you run you'll just loose the energy you need for casting spells." Arme opened her mouth to argue, but saw what he was saying.

"I... Thanks." She murmured, allowing herself to be lifted up and onto Lass' back.

"No problem." They began at a slow pace, though picked up speed quickly. The scenery seemed more amazing now that she wasn't fighting or running, and she rested her head on Lass' shoulder lightly.

"About yesterday... I'm sorry about being mad at you." Arme whispered, Lass slowing down for only a moment before resuming his pace.

"Hm? There's nothing to apologize for."

* * *

A/N: I don't think I like this chapter... It doesn't have much to do with the plot, but oh well! I'm trying to update atleast once every two weeks, so I needed to add this =3 I might be a bit slow on the updates right now because I'm working on finishing the pages for the Lass and Arme Doujinshi I started, the link is in my profile if you want to see it ^^ Also, I play on the American server of Grand Chase and my username is Utsuro, feel free to add me! Please review if you have the time!

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far, they really inspire me to write chapters~ Anything contradicting or confusing, mention it in your reply and I'll be sure to clear it up! Any suggestions would be appreciated as well =3

-Utsuro


	7. Serdin's Challenge

A/N: When reading over this story I found possibly the most redundant sentence I've ever seen in my life: _Turning her head slightly allowed her the view of __**short silver hair **__that was both __**short **__and the same __**colour as Lass'**__... _Yeah, that sentence fails ._. Alot of time skips in this chapter O.O

Disclaimer: Do I really need to do this every chapter? D= it makes me sad...

-The authoress regrets to inform you that she still does not own the rights to Grand Chase, their characters, or the money they earn T_T What she does have is fanfiction and alot of spare time!-

Chapter 6: Serdin's Challenge

* * *

Arme stared wide-eyed as the Serdin Castle came into view. During the travel she hadn't spoken much with Lass, aside from the occasional warnings yelled out in the battles they had faced along the way. She was quickly finding that Lass' idea to carry her had been a good one, the several spells she was casting in the battles enough to exhaust her. They slowed down as they reached the large wooden drawbridge, Lass setting her on the ground as they approached it. A look was cast towards the pair from the large guards standing at either side of the entrance, but they weren't stopped or even questioned as they entered the large front hallway of the building. It appeared as grand inside as it had out, chandeliers hanging along the cieling and a large red and gold carpet looking an ever-so-soft next to the elegant stone floor it lay on.

As they strode down the long hallway Lass dictated the pace, apparently making sure Arme didn't see something and decide to run after it, thus getting herself. They made it without error to a large white door with gold trim, guards standing strictly on either side of it. Both bowed down slightly when they noticed the silver haired boy, though it was apparent their eyes were locked upon the purple haired girl. Lass began to speak as soon as the guards righted themselves, Arme standing silently behind him.

"By the request of the royal Knight Master, we would like to request an audience with the Queen." Arme gasped; the Queen? She had been told they were meeting a Knight Master, not a member of royalty. Uncertain of what to do, she timidly followed Lass as the guards nodded them in, the doors opening wide at the slightest push. She walked slowly, her eyes downcast as they entered the chamber. When she chanced a look up and over Lass' shoulder she immediately noticed the oversized throne, the white clothed woman with a silver crown sitting on it seeming ridiculously small in comparison. A blonde woman completely covered in red armour stood to the left of the throne, a thin sword attached to the belt of her outfit loosely. Lass wasted no time in grabbing Arme's upper arm as they reached the end of the long carpet and approached the throne, pulling her down with him as he swept into a low bow. Arme followed suit after a second, not daring to look over or move in general.

"Your Majesty." Lass said politely as the two rose, then he turned to the red woman standing alongside the queen.

"I see Elesis decided to send you. And you've obtained a new weapon, congratulations." She said, taking steps down the short stairway so she could stand more directly in front of the pair. She raised an eyebrow warily at the two and a few moments passed, Arme moving her eyes to the floor yet again.

"Unless you believe we're about to attack the girl, you can let go of her arm and allow us to see her, Lass." The female knight laughed loudly, Arme feeling her shoulder released rather quickly. When she looked up Lass was no longer obscuring her from the scrutiny of the Queen and Knight Master, and the two were looking her over rather intensely. Although she had already bowed, Arme felt the need to repeat the action lightly, her hands clenched in the fabric of her pants as she began hastily speaking.

"H-hello. My name is Arme, I am a new magician for the Violet Mage Guild, under the instruction of the high mage Elena." She babbled, uncertain wether or not to add more when neither the Queen nor the Knight made a response. She squeezed her eyes shut embarrasedly, waiting for some sort of answer.

"You don't need to be scared, Arme. We're only going to test your magical potential for today." Arme looked as the clear voice came across the room, the petite queen standing as she turned to a man in a robe next to her, whispering something quietly. The man nodded and scurried out of the room, Arme's eyes followed the small man as he left, and finally they were left with no distractions. The silence entered the room again before the Knight Master turned to the queen. A small nod was issued, and she turned to the assassin next to Arme.

"Please accompany the Queen next to her throne for a moment, Lass." Was the command that came from the blonde woman. Lass stood in place for a moment, obviously reluctant to follow the request as his eyes darted warily over to Arme. He ended up doing as told slowly, turning to observe the mage and knight now standing alone in the center of the room.

"Knight Master... It may not be in my right to say this, but she's only been practicing... No, she's only known about magic for six days, and only had classes three of those days. Is it not a bit... Early to be testing her?" He asked, his voice carefully steadied as he surveyed the two.

"You really do need to stop worrying, Lass. I'm not going to hurt her. Like I said, this is only to see the potential, not the skill." With that said, the Knight Master turned to Arme once again.

"Now Arme, we are going to have a practice match to get a look at your range of spells and ability to conjure during an intense situation." She said slowly, seeming as though she was afraid that Arme would be terrified by the thought. The purple haired girl was slightly startled, and she had to admit at that point she was scared as well. _This is the... Leader? There's no way I can win._

"I will give you the time to use one spell of your choice before the match starts, choose wisely." As the words were uttered, Arme's eyes shut. _Fire bolt... The shield... Stone curse... Teleport... Those are the only spells I can use with certainty... Anything else is too risky. _Elena had given her a breakdown of spells quickly at the first day, and among those lessons was summoning things first time.

_Arme, when a mage uses a spell they can remember it almost instinctually... Like the way a gardener can easily tell what plants need watering, and the way many musicians can play a piece back after listening to it. When you start something completely new, well... Let's just say there isn't a very high sucess rate. It's much easier to cast when you've been given an example of the magic you are trying to create._

In the middle of a battle, it wouldn't be a good idea to start getting creative. She took a deep breath before summoning the green shield around herself, wishing she had known how much damage it would take. It was a thought that would have to wait until later time; the knight was almost next to her by the time she had located the red blur of a woman. Without thinking she made a quick run towards the sword pointed at her, teleporting last moment to appear behind the Knight Master. Spinning before the blonde could comprehend what happened, she sent out a firebolt. It missed by a few inches, giving away her location and another of her skills. Resolving to hold stone curse until she could get into a more advantageous position, she began to teleport around the room, very nearly being hit by a wide swing of the blade several times. Arme's eyes widened momentarily as she noticed the knight's movements getting slower as she chased the disappearing mage. She teleported a decent way away, turning toward the woman so she could see how fast she was being approached. Her wand shot out at the last second.

"Stone curse!" Shock was obvious on the knight's face as her legs became encased in the stone that was slowly creeping up her body. _Yes!_ Her opponent sucessfully detained, Arme summoned several fire balls, sending them all flying at the woman. They all stopped short of the sword splayed defensively infront of her body as the last act she could make while not petrified. Arme looked at her hesitantly._ Can I really burn someone who can't defend themselves? It sounds... painful... _

"ARME! Don't pull your punches!" She heard Lass' yell too late, as the stone covering the knight cracked, the distance between them not enough to offer any protection. The blade of her sword was dangerously close to Arme as she made a last minute teleportation to the other side of the room, buying herself a small amount of time to consider her options. No time was awarded, however; the distance between her and the red woman closed in under two seconds.

"Yah!!" Arme's hands clenched tightly in front of her, swinging them upwards quickly to cover her face. What all of the occupants of the room seemed to be suprised to see, however, was not only Arme's hands raising in the air, but the Knight Master herself. She watched mezmorizedly as the blonde seemed to be pulled magnetically to the ceiling, slamming into it before falling down suddenly, a large crash sounding as she hit the floor. Arme's eyes opened wide; she hastily ran over to the woman and ignored the cries coming from the other side of the room. She reached the seemingly unconcious Knight quickly, breathing a gasp as her wrist was quickly grabbed and twisted, a sharp elbow to her stomache sending her tumbling to the floor. She stared uselessly as the blade was swung at her.

***CRACK***

"Ahh!" Arme let out a cry, her hand clutching her shoulder lightly. She hadn't been expecting the shield to break mid-swing; apparently neither had the Knight Master. The blade hadn't gone too far into her skin, only a couple inches as the knight had realized the situation and pulled back on the hilt. The portion of the blade in her skin was pulled out quickly, the blonde woman kneeling next to her and brushing her hand aside lightly to get a view of the wound. Footsteps could be heard rushing toward them, and when Arme finally unclenched her eyelids she saw Lass kneeling infront of her, glaring furiously at the Knight. The queen was standing next to Lass, with another woman in deep blue clothes and dark blue hair next to her.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" The assassin was yelling accusatorially towards the sword wielder, his fingers running lightly along the wound and pulling back as Arme winced.

"I'm extremely sorry... I just didn't think--"

"Well you'd better start! With your aim slightly off you could have killed her!" Arme shook her head lightly and made an effort to smile.

"N-no, Lass, that was my fault. I should have tested the barrier's strength, and the wound's not that bad anyway!" The silver haired boy stared at her incredulously.

"Not that bad?! Have you even looked at it yet?! Arme, don't--"

"Lass, that's enough. We'll have her fixed up in a moment, I'd ask you to step out into the court yard while she's bandaged." The voice came quietly from the queen, interrupting Lass mid-scentence. He stayed still for the moment, his eyes still fixed on the cut. He seemed to debate the idea before standing up quietly, turning to the door.

"You **said** you wouldn't hurt her." He whispered coldly, exiting the room as soon as the words were out. All the occupants of the room watched as the door was swung closed harshly, though no sound was heard from the other side; Lass' footfalls were as silent as ever. The dark blue haired woman was the first to move, taking over Lass' previous position kneeling infront of Arme. Her hand hung over the wound testily, and she looked up at Arme.

"I apologize, this may hurt a bit..." The woman murmured, her index finger unexpectedly pressing straight into the slice. Arme let out a gasp of pain, and she gritted her teeth as the pain in the cut intensified. A few seconds later the burning began to fade, replaced with a dull ache.

"I'm Ellyrine, the head mage of the castle. I was also trained under Elena." She explained conversationally, pulling a thick roll of gauze from her pocket. Arme looked over at the cut as the healer reached up to wrap it, and stared in confusion. The wound wasn't healed, as she had initially guessed. In fact... it looked exactly the same. Sensing her confusion, the elder mage began to explain.

"The healing I specialize in isn't... Healing, per se. When a mage heals, it would be more accurate to call it a high-speed regeneration. The higher the ability of the magician, the faster a wound will heal. Seeing as this is one of my stronger fields, you can take off the bandage in about... two hours?" Arme nodded at the instructions, watching as her arm was bandaged.

"And I'm terribly sorry about this, Arme... Lass was right in that you shouldn't have been injured."

"It's fine, just an accident!" Arme grinned lightly, though her mouth fell back to a slight frown moments later.

"Do you think Lass is going to be mad at me?" She questioned as the bandages were finished and the mage stepped back. The Queen shook her head, but it was the Knight Master who answered.

"No, but he will be pretty mad at me for a while. When Lass gets really angry, he's normally alot worse than that... Of course, I think I've only seen him angry... Twice now?" She responded, " But anyway! Back to the point of the fight! Ellyrine was watching while we fought to see your abilities, she came in shortly after the battle began." The blue haired woman nodded.

"Arme, you've been under Elena's instruction for three classes?" Arme counted the days on her fingers, nodding. The mage sighed.

"In that case, I have nothing to say short of that your preformance was absolutely amazing. I'm suprised Elena taught you to Reverse Gravity so quickly, and that you were able to use it in combat..." She mentioned. Arme sat for a second. _Reverse Gravity? I don't remember-- _All of a sudden she blinked, tracing the fight back to where she had accidentally lifted the Knight Master to the ceiling, slamming her back down instantaneously. It had seemed more like the roof had some sort of magnet on it, which would explain...

"I'm sorry, Elena didn't teach me that... It was a complete accident!" All eyes in the room turned to stare at her.

"You mean to say... You conjured that with no previous experience?" Another nod from Arme.

"That's absolutely incredible! I thought Elena was exaggerating when she called you a prodigy!" She turned to the Knight Master.

"If I were you, I would have no qualms about allowing this girl to join the Grand Chase. She could be an extreme benefit..." The blonde shrugged.

"She lasted longer against me than everyone except Lass, with his speed, and that alone says something amazing about her. When she has the approval of all the Chasers, I have nothing against it. Have you met everyone yet?" She aimed the last question towards Arme, offering the purple haired girl a hand as she stood up.

"No... I don't think so, at least. Elesis said there was one more boy who hadn't come back yet... Oh! The boy with spikey orange hair!" She exclaimed, gesturing upwards with her hands around her hair to try and further explain it. The queen gave a small laugh, but the people in the room seemed to have quieted down.

"Ryan. He's checking on the forest right now, correct?" Arme recalled Elesis and Ronan saying something about the forest and gave a nod. The Knight Master sighed.

"Arme... You'll need to forgive him if he seems a bit... Out of it. He has his reasons, and meeting you might--" She paused for a second, "He may not take it to well. But in any case, Lass is probably getting impatient about now. You might want to go see him, ask one of the guards the directions to the court yard. "

"I will, thanks!" Arme said, giving a small wave to the group of women as she pulled open the large door with slight difficulty. It slid shut behind her without error, allowing her back into the long hallway, giving off three paths. When she inquired one of the guards on the location he gave her the directions, still staring at her as though she was an oddity.

"E-erm..." She turned around to where the same guard was, having interrupted her as she began walking down the left hallway, "Yes?"

"You might want to wait a while to go to the court yard. L-Lass-sama left in that direction a few minutes ago, and he looked awfully furious..." The guard stumbled over his words.

"I know! Thank you for the warning, though!" She called back, turning and speeding down the hallway at a faster pace than before. The two men stared at her as she disappeared from sight, looking at eachother when she turned the corner.

"Who **is** that girl?"

* * *

Arme managed to make it to the courtyard without (many) problems, her eyes quickly skimming over the flowers and statues to locate the silver haired boy. She finally noticed him sitting next to a statue, his head leaning back on it and his eyes closed even as she approached. He opened his eyes slightly as she arrived next to him, his sights instantly on her wrapped shoulder.

"Hey, Lass..." She called quietly, kneeling down next to him, "I'm fine, you know. My arm'll be healed in the next two hours or so!" He sighed, beginning to stand up.

"I know that. It's not the point. The thing is that she... I shouldn't have let you fight." He answered finally, his back still resting on the statue. She stood up to stand next to him.

"You're not blaming this on yourself, are you?" She asked, the idea itself just striking her. It obviously wasn't his fault, but what if..? Lass was silent for a moment before answering.

"I--No. No, I... It doesn't matter anyway." Arme looked over at him suspiciously, though he refused to meet her amethyst coloured gaze. She moved her head up to look at the sky, and soon noticed him following suit. The bright blue of earlier in the day was fading, a dark orange and hazy red swirling in. The sun wasn't very far down, though it seemed to be falling quickly.

"We'll need to stay here tonight." Arme quickly turned her head to look at Lass, though he was still gazing up.

"It'll be dark soon, and I don't want to be fighting at night." He continued, stepping forward so the statue was no longer providing support. Arme opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again after a moment, realizing quickly she didn't know what to say. Lass turned to her slowly, his eyes meeting hers for the first time since her entering the courtyard and quietly displaying his worry.

"I'll go speak with the queen. Make sure you get some rest." with this said he walked away, not stopping as Arme formulated a weak response.

"You too, Lass..." She let out a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding, following in the same direction Lass had gone a few minutes later. When she entered the castle there was noone in sight, just a long hallway that led to multiple rooms and corridors. She eventually decided to go a different way then she had entered the hallway, turning and following the right corridor. She could find nothing of interest in the archways, and was uncertain of opening the white doors that were on either side of the hallway. Reaching the end of the hall quickly, Arme turned into the nearest hallway to her right. Yet again nothing but doors and corridors met her view, large windows on the left of the hallway alerting her to the ever-lowering sun. Lass' prediction about it getting dark quickly was right; there was now no trace of blue in the sky.

Arme continued down the hallway, transporting every few steps as she made her way to yet another dead end. She made another right turn to be met with a staircase, which she ascended without much thought. Travelling through the castle was comforting, and Arme soon found herself making several turns and twists up and down several staircases as she explored. She was ever so rarely met by another person, though most didn't bother to notice her. The few times they did it was mostly through questioning glances or suspicious glares, with a few greetings in between. Ignoring them, Arme began casting fireballs to spiral around her as she walked, humming contently as she paced through the long hallways. A window appearing struck her as odd, and she soon figured out why. Peering outside allowed her not only the knowledge that it was dark outside, but the realization that she was lost. The fireballs around her dispersed (a dozen at that point) and she sunk to the floor, her chin resting on her knees as she tried to remember her path back to the court yard.

"Let's see... I took a... Right? Then another right... Then left, left, right? Or..." She gave a sigh as the lefts and rights slowly melted into one, both her bad memory and terrible knack for directions playing a part. She looked out the window again, unable to recognize anything in the distance. Soon it would be to dark to even see out the window...

"I could use some help..." She called aimlessly, recieving no answer (as expected). She dully stood up, taking a few halfhearted steps down each of the paths avaliable to her before turning back to the wall. underneath the window. The gauze on her shoulder was slipping, and as she hastily went to do it up again she noticed the missing cut. The skin underneath the bandage was perfectly mended, no scar to even indicate that she had been sliced in the shoulder with a sword. _Well, great. It means I've been gone for about two hours... _She pressed her head against the stone window frame, a light sound coming from outside. _And... It's raining. _A few drops from outside were landing on the windowsill, some reaching as far as her hair. The sound was soothing, and before long Arme found herself drifting off. _Someone's gotta find me soon._

_

* * *

_

"You know, when I told you to get some rest this **isn't **what I meant." Someone commented dryly, slightly waking Arme from her sleep. She yawned, rubbing her eyes lightly and looking at... Oh, right. Lass was hovering over her, looking displeasedly at her chosen sleeping surface. Arme lightly chuckled, shrugging her shoulders.

"I got lost." She explained, slowly standing up to strech. Lass stared at her confusedly.

"So you decided to **sleep** under an open **window** in the middle of a **rainstorm**? Seriously, Arme... You're gonna get sick." When she was fully standing Lass turned and began walking down one of the hallways, motioning for Arme to follow him. She him after a moment, her footsteps sounding oddly loud on the stone floor next to him.

"So... I heard you lasted the longest against the Knight Master in a fight..." She murmured. Lass nodded, keeping his eyes on the path ahead of them. He still seemed slightly bitter over the day's previous events, flinching ever so lightly then she mentioned the red woman.

"A-and my shoulder's completely healed! See?" she exclaimed, rewarded by a slight flicker of Lass' eyes in her direction. Right infront of a wall. Arme's eyes opened wide as Lass walked straight into the wall, rebounding lightly as he held his forehead with one hand.

"Damn it, ow!"

Arme couldn't help it, she laughed. Lass always seemed so aware of his settings... She noticed him look back up at her a couple seconds later with the slightest trace of a smile on his face and hoped that maybe, just maybe, he felt a bit better.

* * *

"Nnhh..." Arme mumbled lightly as she rolled over, ignoring the maid that was currently trying to gather her attention. The bed was so **comfortable**! With her head on the soft, downy pillow, Arme hardly noticed as the maid gave an unsatisfied huff and left the room, leaving the purple haired girl to wake up on her own. When all distractions left Arme was quick to fall asleep, waking up again moments later suddenly. _What if Lass is waiting for me to get up so we can go back?! _She thought worriedly, rolling off the bed and onto the soft carpet. Her body made it without incident; her head wasn't so lucky. Arme had forgotten that there was a small night table next to the bed, her forehead slamming into it as she fell. Clutching her head as she was violently forced awake, Arme was reminded of last night's scene. After Lass had gotten over the initial shock of walking into a wall, he continued to lead her through the various halls. They didn't talk much, though the topic of Arme being allowed to join the Grand Chase had come up. The assassin hadn't had much to say about it, a simple congratulations as they arrived at the room Arme was to stay in. He had given her some other instructions on where to go when she woke up, which Arme was now wishing she'd listened to.

The hallways were as confusing as ever, Arme concluded several minutes later as she neared another dead end. The castle seemed to have too many of them... Arme turned around, sighing and regretting leaving the room in the first place. Atleast that way someone would know where she was, even if she didn't. _Well... _she hopelessly attempted to backtrack, the hallways seeming to twist and turn around behind her. She resolved to keep walking, until she eventually passed the inevitable servant or passerby. What she wasn't expecting, however, was to be completely tackled down by someone, falling to the ground as the other landed ontop of her. She rubbed the back of her head, her eyes squinted shut from the impact.

"Hey, I'm lo-- Arme?" Arme blinked, looking up to see...

"Lass?! Why did you just--"

"It was an accident! The maid told me you went missing, and everyone knows how injury-prone you are! I figured if no one went looking for you you'd either fall out a window or get lost again!" The magician nodded as Lass continued on, unwilling to admit that he had actually been correct on the account that she had gotten lost. Finished with his explanation, Lass finally stood up, staring as he helped her up.

"And... Is there any particular reason you've decided to not change into your clothes?" He asked, and Arme hastily looked down at her attire. The black and white pajamas that had been left on her bed the night before were indeed her attire, and Arme blushed profusely.

"Ah! I-- Um, I..." Deciding to let her off the hook, Lass cut her off.

"It's fine, but you should change before we go to eat, because we need to leave right after that." He explained, grabbing her wrist and leading her back to her room. He waited quietly outside as she changed, taking her arm again when she came out. They walked down the hallways silently, eventually arriving at a large dining hall where many people were seated, a large array of food placed on the table. They were quickly seated when the server noticed them, filling in the last two seats avaliable.

The meal was relatively quiet, people seeming to go out of their way to avoid speaking to the pair, though several glanced in their direction from time to time. Realizing she wasn't all that hungry, Arme waited patiently as Lass finished his breakfast. She stole a grape or two off his plate in an attempt to entertain herself, earning nothing other than an amused glance from the silver haired boy in question. They both stood up

sooner than most of the people, recieving an acknowledging nod from the Queen at the head of the table and the Knight Master sitting next to her as they made their way out of the room. Arme waved at them as she followed Lass, and they departed without another word.

* * *

The next few weeks went smoothly, Arme heading to her classes faithfully every day and Lass accompanying her most days. Amy had gotten into the habit of dredging herself up every morning along with Arme so she could watch the short girl cook. They sometimes made meals together, though for the most part Amy was worried she'd wreck the food. Elesis had decided to start including the purple haired girl into their spars when she could after realizing how long she was able to last against the Knight Master, though she had promised to go easy when Lass had thrown a kunai dangerously close to her hair and made some choice threats that **would**, he assured her, be carried out if Arme was injured. Ronan came to help her with magic spells when he wasn't too busy, and she didn't get to see Jin often. They did meet sometimes on the practice field to assist each other with new spells and attacks, though it was a rare sight. Lastly, Lass seemed to have taken to her window as his preffered method of entry to her room, and Arme felt too tired to call him on it after the first few days. After his day's practice he would often come in and watch quietly while she translated the book, offering snide remarks from time to time and hints when he was feeling helpful. Everything was going peacefully up to five days before they were supposed to set off, Arme near an official member of the Grand Chase.

Arme had woken up early, as usual. She dressed into one of the more casual outfits Amy had insisted they go out to buy one day and decended the staircase quickly, the pink haired girl having beaten her to the kitchen. The familiar smell of eggs filled the kitchen, and Amy turned to look at her disbelievingly.

"Do you ever sleep in?!" She exclaimed, turning hastily back to the pan. Arme smiled and streched,deciding to let the muse finish the cooking while she took a seat at the table. Elesis was predictably the next one down the stairs, her nose seemingly sharpened to the smell of food.

"Morning Pumpkin-face, Arme." She greeted, leaning lazily on the door frame as she stretched. They both nodded toward her before resuming their positions, Arme half asleep on the table. As the food was finished the other members slowly came into the kitchen and sat at the table, and in the end all but Lass were seated. The silver haired boy rather rarely joined them for breakfast, and Arme was uncertain on wether or not it was because he simply wasn't hungry, or he just slept in too late. Most evidence pointed to the first option; Lass would often be outside on the training ground when she went outside, and he was always up by the time she went to class. When Ronan came down stairs he naturally sat next to Elesis; Arme had noticed how close they were quickly. They would often continue in on each other's conversations, almost seeming to be a balance. If Elesis was upset, it was Ronan who knew what was wrong, and how to calm her down. Jin didn't sit when he came in, immediately offering to help Amy with the food's preperations. They finished up within a minute, the food being distributed around the table. A light conversation was placed as everyone ate, the day's topic on the recruits that were set to be withdrawn from the border within the week. As requested, Lass had asked about the security and guards had been placed. They had soon recieved word that the border was eerily quiet, Ronan and Elesis going down for one last check on it before sending in the confirmation for the recruits to be removed.

"I'll see you guys in a bit, then!" Arme said as she placed her plate on the counter and exited into the training ground. Lass was ever so slightly noticeable in the terrained area of the training area, moving quickly from one spot to another. Arme settled for staying in the mannequinned area; she only ever went to the terrained area for spars. She had learned to master the reverse gravity technique when she had come back, along with many other spells. The last spell Elena had taught her was cure; today she was going to be taught how to summon the meteors again, and how to control them. For the most part, Arme had learned that offensive magic only applied to those the caster saw as 'enemies' in the battle, defensive magic only to those seen as comrades. Arme had given a sigh of relief upon hearing this; it had been stressful enough the first time she thought she had crushed someone with a meteor.

Today she was practicing Lightning Bolt, a not so difficult technique, but one that drained mana at a suprising rate. She was warned by Elena never to cast two in a row, though one could be held for extended amounts of time.

_Arme, there is a certain amount of Mana at their disposal that everyone has, even powerful mages. Spells such as fireball and teleport don't take a huge ammount of it, an experienced mage could possibly teleport infinitely, or summon fireballs. Larger spells, however, drain a large amount of mana. There are several ways to regain it, but you must remember never to summon two large spells without any mana restoration in between, it could seriously injure you. _

This in mind, Arme decided on releasing a long stream of lightning, aiming for as many dummies as possible. The thought was interrupted by a large slam of the door behind her, and a blur of red as Elesis rushed past her.

"Hey!" She yelled loudly, capturing the attention of the silver haired male further away, "Ryan's back!" Arme stared at Elesis, trying to remember the name. _Ryan... Ryan... The... Oh, That boy!_ Suddenly remembering, Arme turned to the door, intent on meeting the last member of the chase. As she was about to enter the door she felt a hand on her upper arm.

"Lass?" The assassin moved past her quickly.

"Arme, stay out here for a minute, I need to talk to Ryan for a while..." He explained quietly, Elesis following silently and closing the door behind them. Slowly backtracking to her previous spot on the training field, Arme sat down next to a dummy. She halfheartedly summoned some fireballs, now a simple task. when she had summoned several she spiraled them around the dummies, lifting them into the air to preform a show.

"The last Grand Chase member..." She murmured, one of the fireballs lighting down on her staff. Without warning her mind flew to the photo she had seen on the collection room. _He might have been close to the other girl..._ She concluded quietly. That or he was extremely confident. Her thoughts were disrupted by a loud crash in the house and she ran to the door, flinging it open. Directly inside was Amy, a shattered plate lying on the floor next to her feet as she stared into the next room. She turned to Arme as the purple haired girl made a move for the next room.

"A-Arme, don't..." Amy whispered quietly, going silent as the mage entered the next room. Lass was standing next to the small coffee table, the orange haired boy glaring daggers at him from the other side of the table. Elesis was nowhere to be seen, and Ronan was sitting quietly on the adjecent sofa, watching the two testily. Jin had passed her on her way in, heading out to see Amy. Her presence in the eerily silent room was noted by Lass' eyes flickering over to her, Ryan soon following suit.

"It's her?" He asked quietly, his voice full of venom. Lass quickly moved from his previous position, taking a stand between Arme and the orange haired boy.

"Ryan! It's not her fault, lay off. Her joining us is the only option." The silver haired boy responded, his hand not releasing the hilt of his sword.

"No! Lass, I can't believe you'd actually... Are you stupid?! You know what's going to happen, and I'm not going to let it!" Ryan yelled back, his hand slamming on the table.

"So what do you propose we do?" Lass asked, his voice raising slightly in volume as he spoke. Arme lightly pressed her hand against her head. _W-what's going on?! Would someone actually __**tell me**__?!_

"I don't give a damn what you do with her! She's **not **coming with us!" The words came louder and louder in volume, pounding at Arme's head. _I'm sorry! Please, stop yelling!_

"Ryan, please be calm about this..." Ronan added his quiet input, the sound soothing Arme's ongoing headache. _Please... Be quiet..._

"NO! What is **wrong** with you guys?! She's--" _**Please! STOP! **_The pain in Arme's head was consuming, she henched her eyes tightly, her head falling onto Lass' shirt, and she was almost certain she was crying. The sounds were blurring out, and she barely felt it when Lass turned around to grab onto her arm before she could fall to the floor.

_"Arme...? Arme!" _The voice was blurred entirely out as she fell into unconciousness, but she was almost certain it was Lass'.

* * *

A/N: Cliffie? Sort of =3 For the most part I like this chapter, but it's still a bit sketchy D= I hope you enjoyed anyway! Reviews make for an extremely happy writer!

If you can, Please read this story!! http:// www (dot) fanfiction (dot) net/s/5844466/1/ Lass_Loves_Cherry_Pie

It's a slight branch off of this one, and made me feel all warm and fuzzy when I read it =3

P.S. I'm really sorry for any typos/ etc, lately I've been typing while tired o_o


	8. Back to the Beginning

A/N: GC is making my comp freak out, so here I am! Forcibly writing another chapter =3 (I apologize for the Not-longness!)

-insert random disclaimer here containing my not owning Grand Chase/Characters/Etc-

Chapter 7: Back to the Beginning

* * *

Arme winced ever so slightly, her head pounding. The light streaming in from her window intruded her closed eyes relentlessly, causing her to squint. Her arms were heavy under the sheets that lay on top of her. She lay her head back on the less than comfortable pillow. _Beep... Beep... _The throbbing in her head was intensifying._Lass... Amy... Elesis... Everyone... Are you waiting for me to wake up? _She gingerly forced her eyes open, the beeping raising in volume the seconds she opened them. _N-No. Please, don't let this be..._Arme's heart stopped cold.

There, with her head on the pristine white sheets, was Arme's mother. A quick look over granted her the full view of her heart monitor and I.V., faithfully beeping away. The walls were white, the floors were white... Hell, the furniture was all white. _I... No! This isn't... This can't happen! _As soon as the thought came out she felt guilty, looking at her mother. _I just wished... I could go back... _Arme felt her throat choke up and she sat up, sliding her eyes shut once again. A bitter chuckle erupted from her throat as she slowly reached over to shake her mother, forcing a smile onto her face. _It was just a dream... All of it was... Just a dream. _She had told herself many times during the first few weeks, but somehow it had... Slipped her mind. _How do you forget something like that?! It wasn't real, any of it. Not the Grand Chase, not Elena, not the magic, not Lass. He was just... _Arme's hand lighted down on her mother's shoulder, and she tried in vain to make sure her smile wasn't slipping.

"Nhh..." Her mother stirred, her eyes blinking open quickly to take in the sight of her daughter. She stared for a moment, her gaze unwavering. Her hand gently moved to rest on Arme's cheek.

"Arme...? Arme, you've woken... Up..." She whispered, her head up off the pillows. Arme blinked.

"H-how Long have I been... Asleep...?" She managed to make out, her throat still clenching up painfully. She tried to keep her voice steady, though even through her trying she could tell that it kept cracking. Her mother didn't seem to notice, or was ignoring it.

"Arme... Arme, you were gone for..." She placed her head in her hands for a moment before finishing her sentence.

"Two... Arme, two months have gone by." She murmured, holding her daughter's hand. Arme gasped. _T-two __**months**__?!_ she could feel a hand on her cheek again, and her sights getting blurred.

"Please, don't cry Arme. You'll be alright, you'll be alright..." Only when it was said could Arme feel the tears falling down her cheeks almost painfully. Looking at her mother only made her feel more guilty, the tears continuing to build up. _I'm awake... I'm finally awake... And I'm alive! My mother's been waiting for me all this time, but __**why**__..? __**Why **__am I not smiling?! _She made another attempt at lifting the frown off her face, but it only made the vice around her heart squeeze tighter. _It... Hurts... So much... Is this what it feels like to leave behind the people you care about? Do they feel like this too...? _She gave a slight shake of her head to no one in particular, hardly noticing as her mother made a sudden movement to the night stand of her bed. Soon a pill case was thrust toward her, and she vaguely remembered taking them the last time she had woken up.

_These pills... Keep me awake. _As the thought came to her she had a sudden reluctance to take them. Her hand opened and closed around the bottle, in a swift movement she opened the lid, swallowing the small blue and white capsules._What is __**wrong **__with you? Do you want to go back there?! Do you want to die in the dark, all alone?! _Arme shook her head. _No, not all alone... I don't want to be alone... _

*click*

Arme looked up hastily as the door was swung open, a doctor walking into the room to gawk at Arme.

"So, you're really awake..." He observed slowly, grabbing the clip board and sitting down next to her. Arme nodded dumbly, keeping her sarcastic responses to herself. The doctor made some notes regarding the heart monitor before bothering to look up at her, his gaze flat.

"Arme, do you mind if I ask you some questions?" Arme shook her head, her purple hair swaying lightly. _Do I have a choice?_

"Arme, do you feel drowsy? Nauseous? Sick in any way?"

"No..."

"Was there any... Pain in your sleep?" Arme's mind immediately flew to the cut in her shoulder, but her head shook instinctively. _I was in more pain when I woke up._

"And... Did you ever gain consciousness during your sleep? Anything akin to a dream?" Arme's eyes widened as she contemplated an answer, words failing her as she opened her mouth. Finally, she shook her head slowly. _If nothing, just give me this to myself. It's all I ask. _The doctor observed her disbelievingly, jotting down more notes.

"Arme? If you have anything at all that you wish to tell us, please do so. We can't help you if you don't let us." He finished, standing up. Her mother took back her spot next to the head of the bed. Arme sighed, out of anything to say. She was fairly certain her tears had dried up, though the awful clench in her heart and throat had yet to leave. She closed her eyes lightly, exhaustion soon to follow.

"Sweetie?" Her mother's voice came through hazily, "Would you like anything to eat? Maybe you'd like me to put on a movie..?" Arme was hardly able to shake her head before she drifted off, the lights dimming ever so slightly.

* * *

_"Don't worry, she'll wake up. It'll be fine..." _A female's voice was heard softly, causing Arme to stir. _Who's that?! Who's there?! _The noises became steadily louder, following the light that was shining in. Another voice joined the first, muttering something incomprehensible. The voice, though... It was familiar. _There's... No way. _Arme attempted to move, the sheets on her bed acting as a weight and disallowing her. _It.. Can't be. There's no way. _Quietly, daringly, Arme opened her eyes. A beeping burst through the other noises, white light infiltrating her view as she noticed two figures standing at the end of the bed, A purple haired woman and a black haired man.

"Arme! You're awake again!" Was the exclamation made.

That was all it took for Arme to break down into tears, her heart feeling almost as though it were splitting in two. Just like that, she had stumbled all the way back to square one.

* * *

When Arme woke up she was predictably in the white room again, her mind ringing dully as she opened her eyes, her senses seeming to have died along with her heart. Forcing a smile on her face, she looked around the room only to find it empty, a small card on the stand.

_Dear Arme, _

_Should you wake before I return, I will be back soon. I need to go to the store for a bit._

_Love,_

_Mom_

She placed the note back on the stand lightly, letting out a sigh. _I lived for the times I was awake... Now I just don't know what to do... _Her hand flew up to her necklace, fiddling with it absent mindedly as she rested back on the pillow. _This is rediculous! I'm getting so bent out of shape over a dream! _The thoughts wouldn't stop, no matter how hard she tried to make them. Every minute of the time she was awake was easily inhabited by the dream... Her headache came back slowly as she looked around the room. _Is there really nothing to do in this world but sleep? _Her eyes flickered open and shut repeatedly, tears welling up for no particular reason. _I'm so tired of this... _She wasn't sure exactly where she wanted to be, just not **here**! _No, that's a lie. _Arme's mind drifted to her purple room, the training area, cooking with Amy. _I know where I want to be. _She allowed her eyes to close fully, the sound of footsteps approaching the room suddenly invading her ears. _Please let them think I'm asleep... _She thought, _I don't want to deal with any more doctors! _

There was a loud yell in the hallway outside, followed by more footsteps entering the room. Hushed whispers were heard, and Arme squeezed her eyes shut tightly. _Go away, go away... _The sounds didn't leave any further than they already were, seeming to come even closer at her insistence of being left alone. After a few moments she could hear the footsteps retreating, and she slowly slid her eyes open. The sound of someone gasping was the first sound she heard, but it seemed unimportant. Her sights were glued disbelievingly to the wall infront of her, tears still streaming out of her eyes. She blinked once, twice, and a third time. No matter how many times she repeated the action, the wall was completely, and undeniably purple.

"Arme? Are you alright?" A quiet voice said from beside her, Arme looking over to find Ronan sitting next to the bed. She nodded lightly, not making a sound as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her feet fell to the ground silently, and she began walking cautiously towards the door. The immediate hallway was empty, sounds coming from down the stair case. She could hear the spell knight following her as she went down them precariously, but was beyond caring. When she had made it to the bottom of the stair case she hastily made her way into the kitchen, stumbling across Elesis. The red head turned around quickly from the two empty glasses she had taken out, eyes widening wordlessly at the presence of the purple haired girl. Arme passed her as well, turning to the room she had passed out in. The sounds were most definitely coming from there...

Arme closed her eyes tightly, her heart making another uncomfortable leap as she took the final step into the room. All conversation that had been going on previously in the room was silenced, and for a moment Arme was terrified she'd done something wrong. Her eyes flung open, pink hair the first thing in sight. Jin was sitting next to Amy, both of their heads turned around to stare at her from the back of the sofa. Ryan was sitting on the sofa across from theirs, his face completely still as he observed Arme.

"Arme!" The magician quickly turned her head, noticing who she had been looking for; Lass was standing next to the window directly to her right, staring at her with his eyes wide. _Everyone! They're... Here... _Arme could feel her first true smile in three days slowly appearing on her face, tears overflowing as she took one step toward the silver haired male. As her feet made impact with the ground her legs quite suddenly gave out underneath her, sending her to the floor harshly. She didn't bother to stand up, bottled up emotions exploding without warning as she began crying without abandon. It was mere seconds before Lass was next to her, gently rubbing her back as she reached out to hold onto his shirt. Her head ended up resting lightly on the front of her shirt.

She wasn't certain of how long she stayed there, wasn't worried about the groups of people surrounding them. The only though going through her head was _I'm back! I'm really back!_

"I came back..." She could feel Lass' arms winding around her as he lifted her up, setting her on the couch a moment later.

"Yeah. And the first thing you do after sleeping for a day and a half is ruin my shirt." He murmured quietly, relief coming out clearly in his tone.

"Sorry." She responded, her hand still not leaving his shirt as he sat down next to her.

"If you really are, you can stop crying now." Arme raised her free hand to her cheek, the skin wet. She hastily wiped her eyes, becoming increasingly aware of the people surrounding her. Everyone had crowded around the couch, and she could see Ryan watching silently from the arm of the chair in between the two couches.

"You were crying in your sleep, you know." Lass whispered, his head resting on the cushion next to her.

"I was a bit... Scared. I'm fine now." She sat up suddenly, looking at the people around her.

"I think I'm going to go outside and train for a bit alone, okay?" She said, earning several confused stares as she exited the room, turning out the door to the training ground. When further in the field of dummies Arme sat down. In the haste she had forgotten to grab her staff from her room, only allowing her the ability to conjure small fireballs, though they sputtered and wavered out quickly. The actual spells weren't what she had been aiming for; she'd simply needed to see that she hadn't forgotten it, hadn't lost it. Everything was there though... They thought she had just fallen asleep, and had woken up a day and a half later... Everthing was still together. Her head rested on the dummy behind her as she looked up at the cool blue sky, a gentle breeze spinning through the air. She could hear footsteps, and looked over in the direction of the sound. Who she hadn't been expecting to see, however, was the orange haired boy. He was looking at her cautiously as he walked closer, stopping a fair way away from her to lay down on the grass.

"H... Hello..." Arme was the first to hazard a conversation, her hair lightly brushing into her eyes as she watched curiously for his reaction. Ryan sighed lightly, sitting up to get a better view of her. His pointed ears twitched ever so slightly as he looked at her through large, dark green eyes. His hair was a bit more mussed than she'd remembered from the picture, his eyes a dull colour.

"They were all really worried, you know." He stated quietly, head aimed back up at the sky, "Even Lass. He totally freaked on me when you passed out." Arme smiled lightly at the thought.

"And... I guess I owe you an apology after the things I said the other day." He continued with a light chuckle. He looked at her fully before continuing, his voice slightly marred.

"I shouldn't have said anything like that, it really wasn't your fault. I guess I'm just worried... They all seem a bit better now, than they did before I left. But here I am, still broken as ever." His eyes shut gently, the wing ruffling around his clothes and hair.

"What if... What if they forget about her? I keep feeling like they've just replaced her..."

"They won't." The boy looked in surprise over at Arme, the purple haired girl looking down at her feet.

"They still talk about her, and I'm not sure they even notice it. They just... Keep her in mind. Elesis, Lass, Ronan... I'm sure everyone misses her." A silence fell between the two calmed by the rustling of the trees.

"Ryan...? Would you tell me what kind of person she was?" The other was quiet for a moment, contemplating his answer before he spoke quietly.

"She-No, Lire... Lire was the center of my universe. She was kind, brave, and smart. She kept us all from fighting, and inspired us to keep going when we felt weak. She's the only one I'll ever love, and it's my fault she's gone. Maybe, if I had just done something differently that day... It's meaningless to say, but my world froze in place the day she left. I refuse to move from that spot until she comes back... Someday. I'll wait as long as it takes. Maybe even forever." His voice cracked as he stood up, turning away from Arme.

"You're more like her than I would have thought." He murmured, stepping softly towards the door.

"W-wait! Why did she go?!" Arme called, stopping Ryan just as he entered the building.

"Weren't you listening? It was because of me." And then he disappeared behind the door, leaving Arme to wonder just what had happened before she arrived. Following a few minutes later, Arme was stopped at the door by a wave of Amy's spatula.

"That wasn't nice! We were all worried, and you just went off to train by yourself the minute you woke up?" Arme managed a weak smile toward the pink haired girl before taking a step toward the stair case, only to be grabbed by the arm.

"Wait. Arme, mind sitting down with me for a little while? I'll make us some hot cocoa!" She exclaimed, ushering the purple haired girl toward the table before she had a chance to decline. The warm cup was placed in her hands quickly, Amy giving her a smile.

"It's cold outside, so that should feel good on your throat!" She said quietly, blowing smoothly across the top. Arme followed her example, taking a small sip of the liquid. Like Amy had predicted it warmed her body, the cold she hadn't even realized being chased out. A few minutes later, Amy was the one to speak.

"If you pass out like that again, we'll take care of you, okay? You don't need to cry anymore." She murmured softly, taking a sip of the cooling cocoa.

"And besides, I think Lass might break down if you keep crying in your sleep~ He was on edge all day yesterday, sulking!" She giggled, getting a small blush from Arme.

"Hey! **Who **was on edge yesterday? I personally remember you having a sob fest over her body like she was dead or something!" Both girls turned to where Lass stood in the doorway, a light blush decorating his face as he huffed. Arme continued sipping her cocoa as Lass approached the table, taking a seat that was next to neither of them. Crossing his arms on the table, he placed his head on them and stared intently at Arme.

"And I wasn't sulking." He felt the need to add moments later, sending a glare towards Amy. The pink haired girl shrugged as she emptied out her cup.

"Hey, I call 'em like I see 'em." She stated, turning to the staircase.

"Anyway, I'm gonna go spend some time with Jin! I have to practice my violin anyway~!" She exclaimed, waving to the pair as she hurried up to the stairs. Lass' stare remained unwavering as she slowly finished the cup, gingerly placing it on the counter. He made no move, even as she went upstairs to her room. Outside in the training ground Elesis and Ronan could be seen exchanging blows, and the sound of a violin was lightly in the air. _It's almost as though nothing's changed... _She lay on her bed contentedly, not bothering to open her eyes as the latch on her window sounded.

"Ow!" Something had been thrown at her, and Arme looked down to see her spell book lying next to her. Lass was lying on the floor, watching as she picked up the book.

"You're almost done." It was true. Arme had only one chapter to go, a fairly long stretch for the grand total of thirty-three chapters. She wordlessly pulled out the pencil from her top drawer and turned to the last chapter, going word by word. The translation was much easier than it had been in the beginning, and she was developing the ability to almost read the words without the penciled-in English. They stayed like that for a long time, the gentle breeze blowing in through the open window.

"... I'm not going to say I missed you, you know."

"I'm not expecting you to."

Another ordinary day.

* * *

A/N: Another chapter~~ You must be thinking "UTSURO, THE LAZIEST AUTHOR ON EARTH, UPDATED A CHAPTER 3 DAYS BEFORE SHE PLANNED TO START IT?!?!?!? WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!" Well, blame this person here for inspiring me D= - Willowwhip

And GC for shutting down on me ;_; adsylvgcKylymfjkbewrib!!! Come back, GC! We miss you! T_T Another note is that Mari and Sieg may be introduced into the story, I dunno yet =3 I apologize for my ignorance! Well, I don't think I have anything else to say on this other than to please review!

-Utsuro


	9. A Journey's Beginning

A/N: Writing again~~ I have nothing to do~~~

Disclaimer **again?!** o_o; well, I don't own GC, the characters, or anything else D=

Chapter 8: A Journey's Beginning

* * *

Arme stared lightly back at the large house as she took her final steps away from it with the rest of the group. The past three days had been uneventful, mainly Elena extending her classes to attempt to cram as much knowledge as she could into Arme's head. Things had been rushed when she got back to the house, people zipping around quickly in their attempts to make sure everything was prepared and ready to go. Arme herself had few posessions, her book, clothes, necklace and staff the only important objects she could think to bring. _The lighter you can travel, the better, _She had been told countless times. Keeping it in mind while entering her room, she had almost laughed. What was there really to bring? It didn't really matter now. She was going to start the journey, ready or not...

"Come on, Arme!" She looked back toward the group, Elesis looking back at her with a frown, "We have to get going!" The purple haired girl nodded, bounding the last few steps that seperated her from the group. It was a trip she very nearly hadn't gone on.

_

* * *

_

_Arme woke up with a yawn, stretching as she pushed herself out of the bed. The house was oddly noisy for the morning, the sounds of voices coming from the main floor and reaching her even from her room on the second story. The volume raised as she opened her door, silencing as it swung closed behind her. The sudden volume change unnerved her, she paused a moment at the top of the stairs. Ever so caustiously, she placed her left foot down on the top step. When assured no bomb was about to suddenly go off and kill/ and or maim her, she hurriedly ran down the stairs, grabbing onto the ledge of the door leading into the kitchen so she gould swing her head in and see what was going on. _

_She wasn't expecting the empty room that appeared before her, causing her to blink in confusion. She walked further into the room, looking around suspiciously. There was nothing amiss, leading Arme to believe she had simply imagined the previous sounds. _

_"Wah!?" Suddenly, someone had leapt onto Arme's back, the combined weight causing her to fall onto the ground. The person hastily stood up._

_"Oops! She fell!" The voice called; Amy. Arme rubbed her nose lightly and winced as she sat up, slowly getting to her feet. She was offered a hand and took it, looking up to see Elesis shrugging. Now most of the rest of the chase was in the room, looking at the scene with interest. Arme blushed embarrassedly. _

_"So..." She started uneasily, "What's every one doing up so early?" Everyone looked at one another, no one speaking as they all silently decided on who would explain. It was then that Arme realized who was missing; Lass and Ryan. The thought of them being absent, Lass in particular, made her even more nervous. It was finally Amy who threw her arm over Arme's shoulder. _

_"No one else planning on saying anything?" She questioned. When no one answered she took it upon herself to continue. _

_"I think this will explain better~" The pink haired girl murmured, placing a small envelope in Arme's hands. Peeling the seal cautiously, Arme took the letter out. Anxiousness built up in her as she unfolded it, taking in the contents of the letter._

_Dear Arme of the Violet Mage Guild,_

_We would like to extend out congratulations to you in the event of your acceptance into the Grand Chase. Multiple dangers will face you, but we feel, with complete certainty, that you will be able to face the challenges with confidence and courage. In the light of this new and difficult challenge, we are putting faith in you to not only protect your fellow chasers, but the people of Bermesiah. There shall be a meeting to disclose your membership with the locals on the day of your departure. With greatest luck toward you and your noble goals,_

_-Masters of the Serdin Castle Guilds_

_Arme couldn't help the smile that lit up on her face as she finished, looking at the group of people around her. A sudden thought hit her, and her brows furrowed in confusion. _

_"But... I thought I had to have the approval of all the members?" She asked, thinking of the events of the day she had fainted. Though she could have been wrong, Ryan's reaction hadn't seemed to be a 'well sure, welcome to the group!' kind of thing. _

_"Ryan gave his approval after coming in from the training grounds the day you woke up." Jin supplied, shrugging. The others nodded in confirmation._

_"So, welcome to the Grand Chase, as an official member!" Elesis said loudly, the cheers of the group adding to her blush, "We'll be counting on you, so do your best!" Arme gave a polite bow to them._

_"T-thank you all so much! I'll do my best!" She exclaimed, her smile widening. _

_"And~" Everyone turned to look at Amy, who was reaching over to take something off the counter. Arme looked at it; A cake met her gaze._

_"I wasn't sure what kind you'd like, so I just made a vanilla one. It's a bit plain though~" She chirped, holding it out. Arme took the baked good gratefully, walking over to the table to set it down. _

_"But, so I know for later! What is your favourite type of cake?" The pink haired girl spoke again, joining in the group that were now swarming Arme and the cake. The mage considered the question for a moment._

_"Well, I like short cakes alot, and strawberries!" She answered, a sudden shine in the window catching her eye. _

_"One second..." Arme murmured, ignoring the questioning looks as she exited out the back door. When she stepped out into the training field it was empty, but... _

_"Hey! I could swear I just saw sunlight glinting off your sword, Lass!" She called into the empty space. Silence greeted her, and the purple haired girl felt foolish as she walked back to the door. _

_"...Up here." She looked up in shock, and looking down from the roof's ledge at her was the silver haired assassin. _

_"Lass, you jerk! Why didn't you answer when I called you?!" She yelled, teleporting up to stand next to him. When Arme was up on the roof Lass gave no further explanation, turning back around to watch over the ever-busy city. The people were hustling and bustling along streets and sidewalks hurriedly, not at all aware of the people silently watching them. She took a seat next to Lass, not bothering to re-state her baquestion._

_"Congratulations." Arme looked over at Lass, his face giving no indication that he had spoke._

_"Yeah."_

_

* * *

_

She sighed as she followed the other Grand Chase members; they'd be going to the town center to make an announcement before leaving. At the thought of standing in front of a large crowd Arme's stomache churned uncomfortably, slowing her steps lightly in a vain attempt to prolong the time that it took to get to the town center. The rest of the group stayed on pace, forcing Arme to jog a few steps when she noticed no one was slowing down. The sick feeling in her stomache doubled when she began hearing the noises, and seeing the people lining either side of the street. There was a large group near the stage that was up, the sheer immensity of it startling her. There was obviously some ruckus over the Grand Chase setting out again, and she had to have been rather suspicious. The town had gotten used to seeing her with the chase, but surely they were eager for an explanation...

Elesis took Arme by the wrist and dragged her forward, the purple haired girl just then noticing she had stopped moving. The other members were a few steps ahead, most regarding her with sympathetic expressions. Her legs felt like jelly below her as she tried to follow them, barely managing to keep up. The hollers of the crowd grew louder as she walked past them, their hands reaching out over the barricades that had been set up for convenience and almost touching her. Jin took the mercy of keeping the swarming crowd away, Ronan joining him after a moment's hesitation. They walked between the crowd and Arme as they approached, an unfortunate target to the several screaming girls with their hands outstreched over the barricade. They held up until the Magician was on the stage, quickly darting up to join them when there was no immediate danger of Arme being mauled.

The announcer from Amy and Jin's preformance was there again, yelling something to the crowd about the Grand Chase that the crowd was enthusiastically agreeing about, cheers exploding all over the area as Arme tried to grasp what was going on. It was the red-headed knight who took the remote from the announcer. Lass soon followed, dragging Arme to stand next to him as they looked out over the stage. Feeling self concious, the purple haired girl hid behind the assasssin as much as she could from where she was, his grip firmly on her wrist to make sure she didn't run off or get any sudden urges to jump into the crowd. They waited silently as Elesis started out.

"Good morning, everyone! We're glad you could make it!" Ronan came up to stand next to her; from the bright blush on the red head's face it was obvious she was unused to presentations. He took the mic from her swiftly, taking a step forward. The crowd gave a shrill yell at the sight of the blue haired spell knight, taking him a couple seconds to quiet them down before continuing on.

"Now, Now! We're sure you've seen this girl around the town often lately, spotted with several different members of the Grand Chase. While your curiosity was piqued, we appreciate your consideration in keeping all inquiries to yourself up to this point." This wasn't exactly true. Arme and Lass had been tried for questioning several different times over the course of the month, though they were normally people the silver haired by dealed with with a graceful ease. Ronan turned to look at Arme, motioning her forward along with Lass. When they were standing next to him, Ronan said a last few words before handing the Microphone over to Arme.

"We'll let her introduce herself now." Arme blinked, completely still for a moment as she tried to decide on what to say.

"H-hello!" She called out into the crowd, everyone staring at her intently.

"I'm Arme, a new magician in the Violet Mage Guild." She summarized hastily, her hand tightening around the mic as she looked at the people. Her blush was getting increasingly darker, and when everyone noticed she wasn't going to say anything else Lass took the mic from her. Voices raised in the crowd again, silencing after a moment as everyone waited to hear what the assassin had to say.

"I'm sure most of you are still confused, and waiting to see the reason we're here today." He announced, the majority of the crowd nodding enthusiastically.

"Well, we won't delay any longer. The Grand Chase is here to announce the addition of our newest member, Arme!" The crowd fell into a stunned silence as immediately as the words were out, all eyes on the purple haired girl. She bowed lightly, uncertain of what to do. Then, slowly, a roaring applause filled the area, people cheering openly. Arme couldn't help the smile that came to her face from their approval. It was then that Lass continued on.

"Before we leave, Arme will give a demonstration of the skills she's obtained over the month." He called, the crowd cheering louder as he turned to give her a slightly evil grin. Seeing it, Arme hastily grabbed the microphone back.

"And since Lass was the one to so _**kindly**_ give the idea, he'll be my partner in the demonstration!" She continued on, noting the shocked look on his face and that of the crowd. Most were cheering, though she could see some here and there shaking their heads disbelievingly. She smiled again, walking over to the left side of the stage as all the other chasers except Lass exited the stage. He walked over to the other side, eying her warily as the crowd watched intensely. She kept her eyes locked on him as she began summoning fireballs, sending them quickly over to the other side where the silver haired boy was standing. Too slow. She watched as he jumped out of the circle of flames surrounding him and began running over to her. As he approached she teleported, reappearing behind him less than a second later in a repeat of the battle with the knight master. Lass twisted around without missing a beat and Arme cursed. _He was __**there**__ when I was fighting the knight master!_ She teleported away last second, the simitar swinging through the spot where her body had previously been. As a precautionary measure she swung her wand around her and created a Saver, the green shield that had been enhanced since her last battle. When talking to Elena about it, Arme had learned several things to keep the shield stronger.

She had no time to think, coming to the realization that Lass was several times faster than both her or the Knight Master. Teleporting wasn't getting her far, Lass was easily able to cross the stage in less than a second. As she stood still she was surprised to see Lass jumping up, but saw her chance. Just as he was about to drop a kunai down on her Arme lifted her arms up, the motion sending a rather startled Lass to the ceiling. Willing the spell to hold him there for a moment, Arme hastily took a few steps back before allowing the spell to drop him. Before he could make it entirely to the ground Arme caught him in a lightning bolt, zapping him as he still somehow managed to land on his feet and dash forward. Not having expected it, Arme was unable to get away before a heavy chain was sent toward her, colliding with the green shield and causing a large crack.

Arme took the opprotunity to teleport further away from Lass, his feet carrying him to her spot soon enough. She gave a frustrated growl as he grabbed her wrist; If she teleported while he was holding her, the assassin would simply be teleported along with her. She released a few fire balls, though they did nothing in making him release her. His blade was only a few inches away from her when Arme saw her chance. Lass was hesitating; he obviously remembered the end result of her battle with the knight. Siezing the opprotunity before he followed through on the swing, Arme twisted so that she could aim her free hand (fortunately the one with the wand) toward him.

"Stone curse!" The yells of the audience grew louder as they saw the stone begin creeping up Lass body, and Arme used his momentary confusion as a chance to yank her wrist from his grip. She held her staff out infront of her; the curse would only last a few seconds. With this in mind her staff shot up into the air, her voice ringing loudly in the air.

"Meteor!" The air heated up quickly, Lass uttering something she couldn't hear as the stone was encasing his arms. It didn't matter as the stone was about to shatter, the meteors, coming down quickly. Lass winced as one grazed his arm, the magician giving a hasty bow to the awestruck crowd as she ran to his side. He sighed as the stone cracked, his hand instinctually flying to his side. The rest of the chase came back onto the stage as Arme began healing, whispering a hasty 'sorry' to the silver haired boy. She had asked to learn both forms of healing; increased regeneration and a plain cure. Normal cures wouldn't work on larger injuries and they took longer, but were decidedly better for getting rid of a painful wound. He sighed.

"You knew I wouldn't fight you without holding back, right?" He murmured. Arme let a knowing smile on her face.

"And now you know how much I hate being on stage, so we're even!" The roar of the crowd now was overbearing, cheers surrounding them as Ronan picked up the mic.

"Thank you all for your support!" He called, though the crowd refused to be silenced. Their cheers held steady as the chase began exiting the stage, a steady chant of 'Arme! Arme!' rising out. The assassin and mage were the last off, their chants raising in volume when they followed the other chasers.

"Yay~!" Amy cheered when the two came to meet up with them.

"Nice job. Fighting Lass was a good idea to show them you had bravery, but I don't think anyone was expecting you to beat him." Jin added thoughtfully. The rest of the chase nodded.

"Come on, guys! Let's get moving, before they decide to group together and try to kidnap Arme for something or another!" Elesis called, eying Amy suspiciously. The pink haired girl shrugged.

"That wasn't my fault!" In a less than organized manner the group made it out of the small room, hastily making for the direction of the town exit. Arme blushed as the crowd began to get louder again as she came into view, hiding from them behind Lass. The silver haired boy gave her an amused look, but didn't move out of the way. There wasn't much talk between the group until they got to the gate, where Lass kneeled down so Arme wouldn't have to run. Neither noticed the questioning looks from the rest of the chasers until Arme was safely on Lass' back.

"She doesn't run fast, and it wastes energy needed for spells." He explained, walking as they began to pick up pace.

"Hey, it might stop you from running ahead all the time so it's fine with me!" Elesis called in response, Ronan running next to her. Arme heard an odd noise, and turned to notice an oddly coloured wolf running along with them. Noting her confusion, Amy explained.

"That's Ryan. He accidentally drank water mixed with Kaze' Aze's blood a few years back, and somehow it gave him the ability to transform into a wolf!" Arme's eyes widened. _Well, that was unexpected._ They continued on for a while, Arme suddenly thinking to ask a question.

"Lass?" The assassin turned his head slightly, looking at her out of the corner of his eye to let her know he was listening.

"Where are we going?"

"We're searching for Kaze' Aze. There have also been some problems in Elia lately, so we'll probably head down there after we stop in a couple places. First, though, we're going to visit the wall of Serdin." She nodded and looked up, the horizon giving no indication of anything even slightly resemblant of a wall.

"And how far away is that?" She questioned quietly.

"We'll make it there tomorrow, tonight we'll be camping out." He explained. Arme sighed.

"Hm?"

"Well, the 'great outdoors' has never been my kinda thing..." She said, causing a chuckle from Lass.

"You're going to have to get used to it. We sleep outside alot." The magician groaned, shifting slightly to reach into her bag and pull out the book.

"Lass? Do you mind if I read?" A shake of Lass' silver hair could be seen.

"It's fine with me as long as you don't fall." Flipping through, she opened the large book to the first chapter. It was time to learn the basics all over again.

* * *

"There's a swarm of stone and hammer orcs!" Elesis yelled back to the rest of the rest of the group a few hours later. They had been running for the most part, stopping every once and a while to have a drink or just walk for a few paces. Arme had been reading through the first chapter, every once and a while stopping to read something out loud, or ask Lass the meaning of a Bermesian word. He now placed her on the ground swiftly, raising his scimitar as he stepped forward to join the others in the front line. The horde of orcs that were approaching swiftly were huge, a large difference from the orcs she and Lass had faced on their way to the castle. She quickly summoned fireballs, sending them out and over the chase, providing minor injuries but holding them back a bit longer. Holding out from the fighting to charge her mana would be faster; it would also make her more dependent on others to protect her. Frowning at the thought, she settled for just attacking with fire balls, the flames raising her mana as they came in contact with the orcs. A large battle burst out between the two parties, Arme feeling shocked as she watched the group battle.

Only now could Arme truly realize just how much power Elesis and the others had been holding back during their spars, the sheer furiosity of their attacks shocking her. Elesis easily twisted to slice the heads off two seperate orcs, a grin on her face as the spear twirled easily in her hands.

"Is that all you got?!" She called out, a full out grin appearing on her face as several more hammers threatened to smash down on her. She was so absorbed in fighting the surrounding group that she hardly realized when a stone hammer was flinged toward her back, just barely being stopped as Ronan stepped infront of her and parried the blow with his shield.

"You really need to be more careful, Elesis." He said quickly, standing with his back to her. The two were able to easily clear out the circle around her, working fluently together. For a moment Arme simply wondered just how they could fight with that much unison, seeming to almost know what the other was going to do before they did it. She remembered slightly Elesis' explanation of the order that the members had joined in. Ronan had been the third, and Lire had left... That meant that they had been fighting with each other for a long time.

There was a large crash in another direction, bringing Arme's attention over to Amy's fight. The sound waves coming off her were able to throw the orcs several feet with simplicity, Jin often standing near so he could reach them in mid-air. Attacks seemed to do more damage before they landed, and Arme quickly caught on. When enemies got close enough to actually hit her she made sure to lift it up with the air attack she'd learned before leaving. Before they could land she cast a group of fireballs below them, easily suspending the monsters mid-air. She could feel her mana filled to the brink; at this she hastily raised her arm up.

"Meteor!" Everyone twisted to look at her, the meteors falling after a moment's delay. She smiled in victory as the enemies before her were wiped out, pondering the rest of the group's odd expression as they stared at her. A second later a kunai whizzed through the air beside her ear, making Arme's heart momentarily stop as she heard the sound of a thunk behind her. She turned around slowly and saw what the rest of the group had been looking at; a hammer orc lying on the ground with the small blade protruding out of its forehead.

"Missed one." Lass was next to her when she turned back to the group, sighing.

"You really should stick near me in battle, or at the very least from a long distance position. Remember what I said about your survival instinct?" He reminded her. Arme blushed heavily, turning to the rest of the group. Elesis was looking with a frown up at the sky, Ronan next to her. When she looked over at everyone, her eyes lingered on the hardly visible pink haired girl. Jin was sitting next to her, obscuring Amy from view.

"Guys, we'll camp out here tonight. We left late, It's already getting dark." She made the decision. When Arme watched everyone's reaction she remembered that Elesis was the leader, even through her hot-headedness. The others seemed to trust her judgement aswell, easily sitting down and resting at the statement. She noticed Ryan transform back from a wolf from the corner of her eye, mentioning something to Ronan before walking off. She wasn't allowed to ponder the action; Jin appeared next to her.

"Arme? Amy's hurt." The purple haired girl looked over in shock to where the pink haired girl was, Amy giving her a smile and wave as she held her lower leg with one hand. Arme grabbed the bag she had just dropped on the ground and ran over, the fighter keeming up with her and the assassin following at a liesurely pace.

"Amy, does it hurt?" She asked quietly.

"N-Not much! I just don't know if I can run on it." She explained. A limp was obvious in her step as she stood to show Arme the damage. Wincing, Arme reached down to the injury. They would be staying in one place; a regeneration spell would be more appropriate. She set the spell in place, pulling the gauze out and wrapping the wounded leg clumsily.

"It should be gone by the time we leave tomorrow!" Arme said, forcing a smile on her face as she made her way hastily back to the spot where she previously. As she sat down she noticed Lass staring at her, not looking away even as he realized she had noticed.

"... What?" She questioned, confusion on her face.

"A healing magician who dislikes the sight of blood?" He questioned, sitting down next to her. Her eyes opened wide as she looked over at Lass, though he wasn't looking back. She would have continued questioning him on it, but at that moment she got a tap on the shoulder. A quick look in that direction alerted her to the fact that Ryan was back, a stack of wood in his hands.

"You can light a fire, right?" Arme nodded, following him as he set up the logs in the middle of the site. She set fire to them and soon everyone had surrounded the warmth, most nearly drifting off.

"So, what are we eating tonight?" Amy asked warily. Almost everyone followed Elesis' eyes to the orc, a shiver going down Arme's spine.

"No way... Are those even edible?" Ronan gave a shrug.

"We've eaten them before, but they're not really the tastiest sort of food. There should be a stream not too far from here, I'll go see if I have any luck catching anything." Arme sighed gratefully as the blue knight stood up, Jin following along. They left the site, everyone watching as they walked off.

"So..." Amy began, no one bothering to continue with the sentence. Arme had nearly fallen asleep to the warmth of the fire when she heard a sound beside her and realized Lass had stood up. Arme watched interestedly as he began to walk away without a word, heading to the forest that could be seen nearby.

"Gonna go find some tree to sleep in?" Elesis called jokingly after him. Lass didn't bother to respond, and he disappeared among the trees and bushes a moment later. The red head gave an annoyed sigh, leaning back on her palms.

"Where's he going...?" Arme asked after a few seconds. She recieved a shrug in response.

"No one's really sure... Lass never sleeps with the rest of us." Curiosity piqued, Arme stood up.

"Don't bother going after him, you won't find him. You'll pobably just get lost. The food's gonna be here in a while any way." The druid called, half asleep from his spot on the grass. "And I'm **hungry**, damn it. They'd better get back soon." Arme laughed lightly, looking over at Amy. The pink haired girl was rooting through her bag, pulling out random blankets and other supplies. When she had finally unearthed a cooking pot half of her bag's contents were on the floor. The pot placed next to the fire, Amy took to distributing the blankets.

"No one else bothers to come prepared~" Amy sighed as she handed Arme her blanket, "If I didn't bring anything we'd all freeze."

"Not true!" Elesis called stubbornly, accepting the warm blanket anyway. Arme noticed quickly that all the blankets were colour coded, Elesis' being red, Ronan's being blue... She looked down at the blanket in her hands and blushed at the light blue colour.

"Amy! You gave me Lass' blanket!" She called, Amy nodding.

"Yeah! Lass never takes his blanket anyway, and I didn't have time to find a purple blanket before we set out~" She explained, going to sit next to the purple haired girl as she sorted out her bag and pulled out a hair brush.

"Okay, I'm changing into my pajamas! Ryan, don't look!" She scolded, Ryan not bothering to respond.

"Me too. Arme, you might as well before the guys get back." Elesis said, reaching into her bag to pull out red pajamas. Arme nodded as she grabbed her own from her light bag, Changing quickly. By the time she was done the other two were both in their pajamas as well, Ryan completely asleep. They were about to start a conversation when footsteps were heard, and they turned around to see Ronan and Jin returning. Both were dragging some kind of large red monster; Arme flinched back.

"They're armoured crabs. Annoying to get the shell off, but crab meat's good." Ronan exclaimed. By that time Amy had gotten up to jump at Jin, her arms swinging around his neck.

"Yay! We don't have to starve!" She exclaimed, taking the crab from the dumbstruck fighter. Ronan sighed as he dragged the second crab over, Elesis moving near Arme.

"In case you didn't notice, Jin has a really big crush on Amy. Unfortunately for him, she's a bit dense when it comes to noticing that sort of thing." Within the second Amy had darted over.

"Whatttt stufff?" She asked, both girls refusing to answer. Arme stood up.

"Well, Amy! As an assistant chef, you're gonna help me with de-shelling the stupid things." She said, walking over to look at the giant things with distaste. Crab meat did taste good though... Amy let out a groan as she rolled over to where Arme was. The two began cracking the shells open with difficulty, a sudden realization coming over Arme.

"Wait... Aren't crabs poison unless they're cooked alive?" She asked, looking down miserably at the half-opened shells.

"Nope. Not armoured crabs, at least... I think you're thinking of lobsters, Arme." Elesis said, lying on her back as she watched the sky darken. Arme sighed in relief as they placed the de-shelled meat in the pot.

"I'll go get the water!" Amy offered once the pot was filled, the left over crab lying next to the fire. The magician nodded, looking around the camp site. Ronan was lying on his back a little ways away from Elesis, looking up at the sky as well. Ryan was now solidly asleep, light snores filling the area. Jin was sitting and looking at the fire, the expression on his face not giving anything away. _Just how many nights have they spent together like this? Wondering if they'll ever be able to acomplish their goal... Our goal. _She corrected herself internally. This was as much her mission as theirs now. She felt slightly more resolved as Amy returned, setting the pot on the warm embers. Arme had put out the actual fire in order to make for more convenient cooking; she would light it back up when they finished. She gave a glance to the sleeping Ryan and back to Amy.

"Do we wake him up when the food's ready?" She questioned. Amy laughed.

"Yes, unless you feel like facing imminent slaughter. A hungry Ryan isn't a happy Ryan" She chimed, watching the water boil. Arme thought of telling her a that watched pot never boiled, but didn't bother. _After all, in all reality a watched pot boils just as quickly as an unwatched pot, _She thought with a laugh, smiling at Amy's determined face.

"It should be just about done now." She commented after a few minutes. Amy nodded, looking over at Ryan and poking him.

"Food's almost ready!" The orange haired boy shot up at the mention of food, turning to look eagerly at the pot. When the food was finished it was distributed quickly, a near violent fight over who got more or less. The purple haired girl looked at her plate; she had gotten too much. She almost offered it up, but her mind quickly fell on the silver haired boy. The pot was entirely empty, not a drop left. She ate her portion of the food, restarted the fire, and silently slipped off into the darkness in the direction of the woods.

* * *

"Lass! Where are you?!" She yelled, the dark woods around providing no answer. She had entered the woods a few minutes ago, determined the assassin would be a simple target to find. She was now realizing, with nothing but darkness and foliage around her, that this was untrue. It wasn't the only problem she had; she was also now completely and utterly lost. She let out a sigh, continuing to walk forward. At this point she would either find him or die alone and completely lost, and staying in one place would more likely result in the latter. She gave a frustrated sigh, no sight of blue or silver anywhere.

"Lass! Get down here!" She yelled again, to more silence. The unending trees and seemingly morphing paths were confusing and frustrating her more and more as she kept walking.

"Lass, I swear if you don't get down here right now you and your stupid grey hair aren't getting any dinner!" She called frustratedly. The darkness only seemed to deepen as she looked around the rustling of the leaves getting louder.

"Gah!" She fell backwards as someone landed in front of her, looking at her critically as they grabbed the plate before it could fall to its demise.

"Really? I prefer to think of it as silver." Lass said, looking down at her with an amused expression. She looked up at him incredulously for a second, until she realized he was referring to his hair.

"That wasn't funny, Lass!" She repremanded him miserably, brushing herself off as she stood up to look at him. He handed an empty plate back to her and for a moment Arme just stared, amazed at how quickly he'd cleaned the plate.

"Did no one tell you you'd get lost in here?" He questioned. Arme blushed and didn't respond, her eyes downcast as she remembered Ryan's warning.

"I'll take that as a yes." He grabbed her wrist, leading her carefully through the trees and around bushes, maneuvering away from the dark and sinister area and closer into the lighted area. They were quickly at the entrance of the forest, the glow of the fire visible further off.

"Head back to the camp now." He told her, releasing her wrist as he turned back to the forest.

"Lass! Why are you sleeping in the forest?" She questioned. Lass shrugged.

"I don't enjoy other people near me when I sleep." He jumped into one of the trees, disappearing before she could question anything else.

* * *

A/N: Zomg they're actually moving! Dx this chapter involved a discussion on how to cook lobsters and crabs~ how fun~! Nothing other to say than** please review!** and lol, Lass in a tree =D

As usual, any questions, comments, concerns, and flames should be sent via review =3

-Utsuro


	10. Meeting the Counsel

A/N: Omnomnom! 31 reviews?! I love you guys! =D Chapter of stuff~ Late update due to me getting sick ;_; Sorry!! My sister gave me two requirements for this chapter: Sushi Bar and Rose O_O

Disclaimer: If I said I owned Grand Chase would you really believe me? Because if you did, you'd be terribly wrong!

Chapter 9: Meeting the Counsel

* * *

"It's time to get up." Arme stirred lightly as a voice interrupted her sleep, waking her. She opened her eyes lightly to see Elesis shaking her, most of the other chasers visibly awake behind her. She rubbed her eyes for a moment, warily sitting up to see the sky still a pitch black. None of the others seemed fazed by it, so Arme forced herself to stand up and stretch. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night, a large portion of it taken away by her insistance that it wasn't healthy to sleep in trees in the cold without anything. She had stood outside the forest, calling for Lass to come back for a while. Quite predictably, he hadn't. Fed up and determined she wouldn't be ignored, the purple haired girl had wandered into the forest again.

When she was completely lost, Arme felt confident he would have to show himself to help her out. She gave a silent cheer as she heard a loud sigh, and a dull thud next to her. With a grin of victory she turned to face the sound and was surprised to see no one standing there. She stared confusedly at the spot for a moment until something flew past her face, landing with a dull thud on the ground. When Arme looked down there were two kunai sticking out of the ground, both relatively close together. Her head turned in the direction they had come from, but Lass was nowhere in sight. After another frustrated call, another kunai came down a few feet away from the first two, coming from a different direction. She walked near it, unknowingly following as more kunai were thrown further and further away. She blinked as she unwittingly ended up at the exit of the forest, glaring at the trees behind her. She had decided to sleep against a tree unless he accompained her back, but that plan was thwarted as well. Another kunai was thrown dangerously close to her foot to serve as a warning, and Arme got up. Even though she knew with an absolute certainty that Lass wouldn't hit her with one, it was obvious he wouldn't let her sleep if she stayed there. She gave a final sigh as she stared back at the trees, walking defeatedly back to the group. Only Jin was still awake, glancing at her frustrated expression before turning back to the fire.

Now looking around, Arme noticed everyone was there, Lass included. Amy was heating up the rest of the second crab's meat, Jin sitting next to her. Elesis had already changed, and was sitting next to Ronan and Ryan. The three were having some sort of conversation she didn't want to intrude in on, so she quickly changed under her blanket to assist Amy with the cooking. When she was done changing, however, the meat was done heating up. The portions were handed out by Amy with a smile, the purple haired girl wondering how anyone could be that cheerful in the morning. She accepted the plate she was handed, the group eating with a conversation held by most of the members. Arme was one of the ones who sat out, still not quite awake enough to participate in any form of conversation. She half-dazedly helped Amy pick up the dishes after the meal, stacking them in her seemingly endless bags as Jin helped collect the blankets.

"We should reach the wall in about two hours!" Elesis exclaimed from across the fire pit, Arme staring at her vaguely. _Wall...? Oh. _Yawning, she stood up from her seated position next to the bag. Everyone seemed almost ready to go, the last of the fire's embers being put out by Ryan. Soon eveything had been picked up and everyone was assembled, turned toward the direction where Elesis was.

"Let's go!" A walking pace began, and Arme followed along. When she looked around, she was surprised to see Lass walking next to her. Remembering the previous night, Arme hurried up her step until she was next to Amy. As the pace picked up, the pink haired girl could be seen looking at her.

"Lass not carrying you today?" The mage shook her head hastily. Amy watched concernedly for a moment, but shrugged and continued running. Arme was proud of being able to maintain the pace and quickly sent a glance back to see where Lass was. The silver haired boy was running along with everyone else, watching her warily. Realizing that he could see her watching him, Arme turned her head back to look forward. They continued on silently, Arme realizing just how much she hated running.

* * *

"The wall is just up ahead!" Elesis yelled, a light cheer ringing out from the group. Arme let out a sigh of relief, prepared to collapse the moment they got within the safe area of the Wall of Serdin. The stone slowly came into view, Arme speeding up to reach it. She had just barely been able to keep up with the group, and was completely lost on how they could manage to run like that an entire day. No one else seemed the slightest out of breath... She looked up in surprise to see red hair, Elesis looking back at her. The knight had slowed down, so she was now running next to the mage.

"Arme, are you okay? You look kinda... Tired." She finished, downplaying the purple haired girl's exhaustion. Arme thought a minute before responding.

"I... I didn't get much sleep last night, I'll be fine!" She smiled lightly, though the red-head didn't seem to be buying it.

"You can rest when we get to the wall, but we should be leaving shortly. After all, we were here a couple weeks ago." Arme could briefly remember Elesis and Ronan disappearing for a couple days during her first few weeks, so she nodded in aggreance with the statement. The group's pace was slowing down as they approached the wall, the large gate held in the center of it opening. What Arme wasn't expecting to see inside, however, was a huge swarm of people. If not for the barricades holding them back, the purple haired mage was certain they would have been mauled by the horde. Sensing her distress, Elesis grabbed Arme's arm and led her to the front of the group. They entered the crowd to the huge cheers of the people, clapping and the roar of the audience filling her ears. The sound in itself reminding Arme of the unfortunate on-stage display she had been forced to put on the previous day. She gave a small wave to the crowd, moving so the group was surrounding her and blotting her from the audience's view. It didn't seem to do much as far as deterring the crowd went; they seemed to get even louder when they couldn't see the newest member.

After a few moments of large cheers going up Arme resignedly moved out of her protective circle of chasers to allow the crowd to see her. The building they were apparently headed to was nearby, and she figured she'd better get the viewing over with. The response to her showing was almost instantaneous, the crowd roaring up in approval. The last few steps to the door seemed heavy, the running finally taking a hold of her as she followed in after Elesis. A group of three older people were sitting in a pleasant, living room-like area. The Grand Chase filed into the room rather quickly, escaping the eyes of the over excited public outside. Arme was the first to take a lunge for one of the couches the people were motioning to, a light laugh coming from the group as she sprawled her full body against the couch and only managed to take up two of the three seats availiable. The rest of the group tool a more civilized approach to sitting, calmly seating themselves around in the other various chairs.

"This is the newest member of the chase?" Arme could hear the voice of an old woman come through, and she opened her eyes slightly. The eyes of all of the elderly people were on her, looking her over with a smile. The blinked warily, suddenly feeling a bit more than self-concious.

"A-ah... Yes! H-hello, I'm Arme! I'm the newest member of the Grand Chase, a magician under the instruction of Elena, the high mage of the Violet Magician's Guild." Arme repeated the introduction mechanically, wondering how many times she would be forced to re-state it. The middle elder nodded at her, turning to the blue haired spell knight.

"Ronan, You're just passing through?" He asked, his eyes not turning to look over any of the other members.

"That is correct." He concurred. The three people seemed deeply in thought before one stood up.

"Well, if that's the case, could we ask for your presence in the great hall for a short meeting? There are some members of the serdin guard here looking for a representative of the Grand Chase." Ronan looked over at the red headed girl to his right for a moment, his gaze lingering uncertainly. Arme could hear Elesis murmur something, followed by Ronan giving a nod to the people infront of him.

"So long as it doesn't interrupt our travels." He stood up abruptly, walking over to where the three people stood waiting. Turning back to the chasers for a moment, he gave a wave.

"I should be done in a little while, we'll meet back up at the usual spot?" Elesis gave a nod of confirmation, watching as the other knight left the room. She stood up when the rest of the chase began to move, looking over them.

"Ronan will be back soon, until then you have some free time to do whatever you want!" Amy gave a squeal, grabbing Jin's arm and bolting out the door before anyone could give much thought to the action. This was followed by a large roar of the crowd outside, large cries of 'AMY!!' reaching the people inside. Ryan gave a shudder before turning abruptly to a side window, sliding out it. It was facing a forest, and provided a much more discrete exit then the front door. Lass followed him out a moment later, not sending back a glance to the exhausted mage on the couch. Arme allowed her eyes to shut again, and had nearly dozed off when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey?" The voice was Elesis'. Arme contemplated pretending to be asleep for a moment, but in the end she sat up, looking at the red headed girl.

"O-oh! Well, I know I said you could rest when you got to the wall, but I was kind of wondering if you wanted to come shopping with me?" She asked warily, looking uncomfortably at Arme. The purple haired mage was on the verge of rejecting the offer in favour of a nap, but seeing the look on the fighter's face she reconsidered. Elesis seemed... Worried, for lack of a better word. She let out a sigh of relief as Arme stood up, stretching and nodding.

"My nap can wait until later." She stated, following Elesis as she approached the door. The crowd seemed to have thinned out in the slightest, though there were still enough people there to eagerly swarm the pair. The previous barriers that were up had been taken down, most likely for the convenience of the Grand Chase, so they could get around without problems. It instead seemed to have the reverse effect, people almost tackling them to get a look at the new magician. With much difficulties the two managed to escape the crowd, running into a more secluded street. People still stared with amazement, but seemed to have less to say to the members.

"What was with those people?! It's like they were crazed!" Arme cried, throwing her arms up in the air in exasperation. The red head shrugged.

"It's not like this in our home town because people are used to seeing us, but you will get that alot in different towns. It may seem sort of intimidating, but it's actually that they want to support us." She explained roughly, preoccupied with looking at the various stores that lined the paths.

"Well, they should really get a better way to show it!" Arme vented, her lack of sleep and energy making her feel more frustrated than usual.

"I mean, really... I'm glad, but..." She wasn't able to finish the sentence before Elesis grabbed her wrist, yanking her inside a store. The walls were filled with displays of weapons, pictures, and various necklaces. The knight paid no heed to them, walking up to the front counter where the shop keeper was staring at them, seeming to have dropped his previous task upon their entrance.

"Elesis-sama! What can I do for you?" The man said, looking over the two. Without making much of an effort to be social, she grabbed her blade off it's sheath on her back, holding it out so the man could see it.

"I'd like to have my spear sharpened, we had a battle with orcs outside the town. Their armour probably scratched the edge. Taking the spear from her, the shop keeper nodded.

"Yes... While it's beautiful for cutting through monsters, it tends to have a problem with thicker materials. Not quite like your sword, eh?" He continued, running his hand lightly on the blade's edge.

"Not at all." she scoffed, "But it's a ton lighter." When the man reached to grab a cloth, Arme almost figured they were done in the shop. She was about to turn around when he looked up again, eyes lighting over the pair.

"Ronan-sama not travelling with you today?" Elesis visibly stiffened, waiting before giving an answer.

"No. The elders wanted to see him." She answered quietly, frustration visible in her stance and voice. The shop keeper gave a light laugh, laying the cloth on the blade.

"Them again? Don't let them get to you, Elesis-sama! Tell you what, this is on the house!" He exclaimed. Elesis gave a light smile, taking off her sheath to leave it on the counter.

"Thanks... So I'll be back again in a couple of hours to pick it up, can I leave my sheath here until then?" She questioned. The shop keeper nodded.

"And I wouldn't reccomend going down town right now. I saw Amy-sama and Jin-sama headed down that way a while ago, and they had quite a horde on their heels. There is a nice little sushi store that just opened up near here though, if you wanted to go there!" Elesis sighed and gave a chuckle.

"Alright, then." She turned to exit the store with a wave, Arme following hesitantly. There was a delay before she finally decided to ask the question she had churning around in her mind.

"Elesis...? Is Ronan seeing the elders a... bad thing?"

"Nnnn... Well, no. No, but... You didn't notice it when you met them, did you?" She asked. Arme thouht back to the meeting, but could find nothing wrong.

"What?" Another heavy sigh from Elesis.

"They... They refuse to acknowledge me as the leader of the chase. Ronan, as a natural member of the Royal Guard, is much more fitting in their eyes. They're probably right, but still! Whenever we're here they go out of their way to make sure any position I should be given as the leader is given to him. Anything I do wrong is highlighted and made to seem way worse than it was. He's more suited to public events, so it works out in the end, but..." Arme watched Elesis carefully.

"Elesis... Are you mad at him?" She asked quietly. The red head turned to her in surprise.

"Who, Ronan?" Arme nodded, causing Elesis to laugh.

"No way. I may argue with... Well, at him alot, but I can never really get mad at him. I offered him the position as the leader of the Grand Chase once, you know? He refused it. I'm kind of glad he did... I never would have become as strong as I am without the responsibility of being a leader, and I think he knew. Ronan's just like that. It was just the three of us for that time... We've known each other for almost two years, and I don't think he's ever let me down." She explained quietly, her eyes glazed as she reminisced. A small smile came to Arme's face.

"When you speak like that, I can't help but wonder if Amy isn't the only dense one..." A blush came to Elesis' face as she glared at the mage.

"And what are you trying to say by that?!" She huffed, the blush darkening on her as she began walking down the street at a faster rate. Arme hurried to keep up, keeping silent. She bumped into the kinght suddenly; she had stopped infront of a store. When no explanation was provided Arme looked at the storefront. A large arrow was in the center of the bulletin board, and she stared at the writing for a moment. Still unused to the wierd language, it took her a minute to translate the words.

"A... Archery... Range? Why are we here?" She asked. Elesis didn't say anything, cautiously stepping forward. The door was pressed open lightly, Arme watching as it swung silently. Inside was a quaint little area, the walls made of wood. Bows were up against the wall, several targets on hangers with price tags above them. People were headed out the door that was placed next to a large observational window, not much viewable from the front door. The shop owner dully noted their presence, nodding towards them as he continued stringing the bow in his lap. Elesis stepped further into the store, Arme following worriedly. _Why this place...?_ They continued in until they were at the observation window. Elesis sitting down on the small bench that was avaliable. Her head turned slightly as she scanned the outside area, not finally landing on something in particular. Outside was the archer's range, And people lined up at the shooter's line or in the benches that surrounded it. Amethyst eyes followed the gaze of crimson, and soon Arme found what the red head had been looking for.

On a secluded bench to the side sat Ryan, his knees up to his chest as he watched the archers. There were a few people that had tried in vain to talk to him, the orange haired druid right out ignoring them. his eyes remained solidly on the people in the shooter's lines, following the arrows as they flew toward the targets. It didn't seem to matter to him that most of the shots were fails, or that some had even been so off track to almost hit him. Ryan seemed to be in a total trance, and Arme found herself doubting he would move even if an arrow was headed straight at him.

"Tch...! That idiot!" Arme turned to look back at the red haired girl as she stood up, muttering curses under her breath as she moved toward the door. Arme followed at a fair distance, watching as she charged over to where the orange haired was sitting. Her eyes widened and she gasped as the knight grabbed him by the collar, dragging the surprised druid off the bench.

"Come on, tree hugger! Lire **isn't **here! Stop depressing yourself!" She demanded outright. Ryan seemed at a loss for words, though Arme couldn't be certain if it was Elesis' speech itself, or the blatant tone in which she said it.

"Now let's go! I'm hungry, so you're buying us all lunch!" Elesis continued, still dragging the shell-shocked elf off of the archery range. She passed Arme, giving a slight motion for the purple haired girl to follow. Any words she had died in her throat immediately as she looked at the determined features on the girl's face, and she followed along without complaint. Ryan only seemed to regain his footing when they were outside the building, stumbling to keep up with the pace of the knight as he attempted to pry her hand off his collar.

"W-What was that about?!"

"Me being hungry." Elesis responded, not releasing his collar as they continued down the street. The group came to an abrupt halt infront of another store, and Elesis used her free hand to point toward it.

"There!" The store was a sushi restaurant, and Arme could only guess it was the one the previous shop keeper had told her about. They stood there for several minutes, the confused druid still trying to comprehend what was going on. A few moments later he clued in, looking at the knight exhasperatedly.

"Elesiss! I don't even like sushi!" He complained lightly. Arme was fairly certain the events at the Archery Range had done something to him; he seemed alot less lively than he had during their travels. She let it off as the red head led the group inside despite Ryan's reluctance. The whole place turned to the door as the entered, an amazed silence taking the area for only a second. It was ended when a man in chef's apparel came out to greet them, looking cheerfully at the group.

"What can I get for you today?" He boomed. The magician shrunk back, but Elesis didn't seem to mind.

"Alot of everything on your menu! Orangie over here is paying!" Ryan gave a resigned sigh and nodded, reaching into his pocket. He threw a bag of money that the man seemed more than happy to take from him.

"Alright, then! Sit anywhere you'd like, the food will be served to your table shortly!" The chef nearly spun out of the main room and into the kitchen, Arme staring worriedly after him. They eventually decided on a seat next to the window, Ryan staring at the window dejectedly until the food came. When it did Elesis was the first to leap on the platter, filling her plate to the brim. She watched the other two inhabitants of the table confusedly, neither taking any food. It was a few minutes later that Arme filled her plate lightly, Ryan following suit.

"So... What are you going to do for the rest of the day?" Elesis asked, the question directed at the axe-wielder. He shrugged uncomfortably under her intense stare.

"Well... I'm going to... Wander around the town for a while..." He explained lamely. He recieved a doubting look from both of the females at the table, but didn't bother to elaborate on his shedule.

"You can't go back to the Archery Range..." Elesis murmured. It seemed she would have continued had she not been preoccupied with popping another sushi roll in her mouth. Ryan turned his gaze back to the window, staring out it dully. His lack of a response seemed to annoy Elesis.

"Ryan! You are **not **going back to the range!" She stated firmly. Yet again recieving no response, the red head resorted to glaring.

"No matter how many times you go back there, she's not going to just be there! You're wasting your time!" This seemed to recieve a little more of a response from Ryan, though aside from moving his eyes so he could see her he made no indication of hearing her. Arme watched the scene without making any input, staring at Elesis. She had known the other girl had a short temper, but this seemed a bit out of the usual... The topic of the archer seemed to be extremely touchy.

"Ryan--"

"Cut it out, Elesis. I get it. We're in a restaurant." The druid finally decided to speak, his words quiet and calm. This seemed to further frustrate Elesis, and Arme could nearly see her bristling with frustration. Standing up, she turned around and walked out of the place without another look back. Ryan let out a sigh and looked apologetically at Arme. The magician was looking a the door worriedly, uncertain of wether or not to get up and follow the red head.

"Don't worry about it, she has a really short fuse when Ronan's not around. I don't even know how that guy does it... With a couple words from him she's perfectly fine. But... Until he's done at the meeting, you might want to not take her too seriously." Arme nodded lightly, standing up.

"I think I'm going to go see if she's alright. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah. I'll stay here, someone needs to eat the rest of this." He visibly shuddered as the chef continued to bring sushi, seemingly oblivious to the argument that had transpired moments ago. Arme nodded and headed toward the door, turning around at the last second.

"And... I know you probably don't want to hear this, but... Just try not to dwell on it too much." Ryan hesitated before nodding reluctantly. With that, Arme left the small restaurant in favour of finding the angry red head. The streets were fairly clear, and she first decided to walk up and down them to see if Elesis had gone in any shops. From none of the front windows was the redhead visible, and Arme was unable to spot her on the paths either. Her mind inevitably wandered as she did, and soon she was just standing in one place and thinking. _Hmm... I wonder what Lass is doing today. _She quickly dismissed the thought. Not only would the silver haired male be nearly impossible to locate in the middle of a people-filled village with hundreds of tiny nooks and crannies for him to hide in and practice being a ninja or whatever else he did in his free time, she was still a little mad from the forest incident. Giving a frustrated sigh, she opened her eyes and was greeted with a small flash of red in the corner of her view. Elesis was sitting on the curb across from her, not noting the purple haired girl's presence. Carefully, she took a seat next to Elesis.

"Elesis?" The red haired girl's head shot up when she heard her name called, eyes falling on the magician. She stared for a moment, then rested her head back on her knees.

"Are you... Alright?" The red head scoffed.

"Me? I'm perfectly fine. But if Ryan keeps moping around... I know that hurt him alot, but... He just can't keep doing this to himself, and as the leader I'm supposed to help him..."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I don't think Ryan will be going back to the archery range." Arme said, smiling at the girl who was still looking somewhat miserably at the ground. Elesis looked up a moment later.

"Alright, then. What should we do for the rest of the day?" She questioned. After a moment's contemplation the purple haired girl shrugged; not knowing much about the area or technology avaliable made it difficult to think of an activity. The knight stood up, stretching.

"Ronan should be out of the meeting soon, I think I'm gonna go wait at the door of the place. You can come with me if you want." She added the last bit with a slight delay, as an after thought. Arme hastily agreed with the offer; she had been told time and time again about her poor survival skills in general, and couldn't imagine spending an afternoon in an unfamiliar village would bear any good consequences. A plan decided on, the pair quickly made their way through the streets with Elesis in the lead. The streets seemed fairly empty, as most of the crowd had followed Amy and Jin when the went into the center of the town. Eventually they came upon a large white building with a small section on the left covered with large glass window panes. The two sat down on the front steps, though it was obvious Elesis was quickly getting impatient. After a few minutes she resorted to standing up and pacing back and forth. She finally stopped, her eyes falling on something. Arme traced her gaze; it led to the windowed area of the building.

"That's where they hold the meetings! Maybe we'll be able to see Ronan from there!" She exclaimed, grabbing the mage before she had a chance to reply. They quickly made it over to that side of the building, the trees and height of the windows obscuring the shorter girl's ability to see into the room. When she finally managed to see into the room by standing on her toes she found herself peering into a big, white room. Inside was a long table, several people sitting at it. Ronan was one of the few nearer to the window, the back of his head directly viewable from their position. None of the people in the room seemed to have noticed the two outside the window, but Arme started feeling precautious.

"E-Elesis...? Maybe we should go..." She murmured.

"Nhh... They're gonna take forever!" The red head said, paying no heed to Arme's comment. She kneeled down and began searching the ground for something, every once and a while picking up something the mage couldn't see.

"Elesis...?" She questioned. Elesis stood up, and Arme was able to identify the small objects in her hands as pebbles.

"I'll just throw a couple at the window and get his attention. That way, he'll speed up the meeting!" Sensing the large flaw in the knight's plan, Arme attempted to form some kind of response. A rock was flung by her head before she could speak, bouncing lightly off the window and back onto the ground. The same procedure was followed by the next rock in Elesis' hand, and the next one after that. They didn't seem to be catching the attention of the spell knight, and Elesis was getting easily frustrated. The pebbles she began picking up were getting larger and larger, most out of the size range of 'pebbles'. Arme began worrying again at this point... It was highly possible the window would--

***Crack!* **

Elesis blinked rapidly as the window cracked, a small hole in it allowing the rock (now about the size of her fist) to zoom into the room and straight at the back of Ronan's head. Said knight faceplanted on the table infront of him, the rest of the inhabitants of the room hurriedly going over to check on him.

"Ronan-sama!? What happened?!"

"Someone check outside!" Voices were jumbled as they came closer to the window, and Arme quickly turned to look over to where Elesis was standing. '_Anything I do wrong is highlighted and made to seem way worse than it was.' _Without much thought, Arme pushed Elesis into the cover of the nearby tree. She was grateful that the confused knight didn't try to move, sitting silently under the branches. It wasn't long before some men came running out to the window where they were standing; Arme waved politely at them as they approached.

"Was it you who threw that rock?!" One demanded. Within a few seconds of her giving a confirmational nod her arms were grabbed, and she was hustled inside the building. When they had dragged her into the room where Ronan still lay unconcious, everyone turned to stare.

"What shall we do with her?" The guards asked simultaneously.

"Stick her in the cell until we can get this all sorted out." One of the several people huddled around Ronan responded. With a worried Arme in tow the guards nodded and began walking through the halls. They eventually ended up infront of what looked like a single prison cell, and the two released the mage inside of it.

"I-I have to stay inside here...?" Arme questioned, recieving nods from the two. She sighed and sat down on the small bed, her gaze toward the ceiling. Her fatigue hit her almost as suddenly as she sat down, and she ended up resting on the extremely uncomfortable bed. No sounds could be heard outside, and Arme soon fell asleep.

* * *

"Get up."

"Nnhh...?" Arme's eyes opened toward the voice, only to see one of the guards she had previously been escorted by.

"We have a request for you from the meeting room." As soon as the message was relayed Arme shot up, finally remembering her location. She looked around, but no one aside from herself and the guard was in the cell. Standing up, she followed him out of the small cell and back out through the way she had come. When she was dropped off at the meeting room she stared at the doors for a long while before hesitantly pushing the door open. Inside was the previous setup viewable from the window, Ronan awake once more. He stared at her in suprise for a moment.

"Arme?!" She gave a weak wave and a smile, still not fully awake. He looked at her disbelievingly before continuing.

"Can we finish this discussion in a moment? I'd like a chance to explain the situation." The elders nodded, allowing Ronan to step out of the room along with Arme.

"Do you know where any of the other chasers are?" He asked as soon as they were out of the hearing range of the room. Arme contemplated the question for a second.

"Well, depending on how much time has passed Ryan may still be at the Sushi Buffet, and Jin and Amy were down town somewhere..." She neglected adding the location of Elesis for worry of how obvious it would be that she was the one who actually threw the rock. Ronan nodded thoughtfully for a second, continuing to lead Arme through the building. They were soon at the front door, which was pushed open lightly. Along with the view of the outdoors, Arme was surprised to see Elesis sitting on the step. At the sound of the door opening she leaned back, noticing the two immediately.

"Ronan! Arme!" She exclaimed, standing up and turning around to face them.

"Elesis, that kind of hurt. The next time you decide to throw rocks at official buildings, you might want to reconsider." Ronan said, causing both Arme and Elesis to stare at him.

"You... But...! Arme said she did it!" Elesis stuttered, a blush appearing on her face. Ronan gave a laugh.

"No offense, Arme, but there's no way you could have thrown a rock hard enough to break through a window and knock me unconcious. Judging by the way you mentioned everyone's location but Lass' and Elesis', I figured Elesis must have. After all, I highly doubt Lass would have let himself or Arme get caught for that." Even with the light tone Ronan used, it was obvious Elesis felt bad about letting Arme take the blame for the rock-throwing.

"Well, it was kind of amusing to watch all of the people freaking out!" Arme grinned. Elesis nodded, but Ronan let out a sigh.

"You see, here's the problem... They've decided to use this as an excuse to prolong the meeting until tomorrow." Elesis gasped.

"They can't do that!"

"They can. I've already tried arguing with them, but they just won't listen! I won't be able to leave tonight, but I can catch up with you when the meeting's over." Elesis shook her head rapidly.

"No way! We're not leaving without you!" She declared, trying to get past the blue haired knight and into the building. He held her back, an arm pressed lightly against her stomache.

"Elesis... Don't give them any reasons to try and force the leadership out of you. I'll stay here and deal with them, you guys can fight without me for a while. It won't be that long." He was now quietly pleading with her, a frown setting on her face.

"But..."

"Elesis, please."

"... We'll set out at dawn, there's no point in leaving when it's getting dark like this." Elesis muttered, turning around quietly. Arme looked up at the sky; Elesis was right. It was getting steadily darker, the time passed when she was sleeping becoming obvious. Ronan gave a sigh as the red head walked away silently, her hair swaying behind her.

"...Ronan? Why can't we just wait for the meeting to be over to leave?" Arme questioned.

"She's already prolonging the leaving date for me... If she stretches it any more, just so I'm there when we set off, the counsel will be back to trying to usurp her position. If they see that, they'll almost certainly try to blame it on Elesis being unable to control the group without me..." Arme nodded, looking off in the direction Elesis had disappeared in.

"She should be headed to the MoonView Hotel, it's the one we always stay in in this town." Ronan explained, handing her a piece of paper. Further inspection on said piece of paper revealed that it was in fact a map, tracing from her current position to where the hotel was.

"I'll just be a little longer here, then I'm headed over. You can go ahead of me, if you'd like." She nodded, wanting to go make sure Elesis was alright.

"And... If you see anyone else, make sure to tell the what's going on." With another nod, Arme turned around to follow in the direction Elesis had gone. Grateful for the map she had been given by Ronan, Arme was able to make it to the hotel with hardly any problems. There had been a few people begging for her to demonstrate her spells, she had done with just summoning a few fireballls for them to see. This seemed to be all the people really wanted; Arme had learned that outside the Grand Chase's village magicians were few and far between. Most magicians went to the village for the instruction of Elena, one of the few extremely sucessful mages of the time. The lady at the front reception desk looked at her and smiled; Elesis had been in there a few minutes prior to book the rooms and had left to go look for the others. Even though she knew she should most likely go see if she could help, Arme guiltily walked up the stair case and to her assigned room. When inside it she dropped onto the bed, her head falling on the overly soft pillow. Still tired from having just been asleep, Arme hastily closed her eyes. Sleep wasn't far behind.

* * *

It was still dark outside when Arme awoke to sounds coming from the rooms next to her. She rubbed her eyes, sitting up on her bed to peer around her pitch black room. The door was flung open a few seconds later by an overly energetic Amy.

"Arme, it's time to get-- Oh, good morning! It's almost time to go!" The girl chirped, spinning around before flitting back out the door and slamming it behind her. Arme stared blindly at the door for a moment before forcibly getting out of the bed. She hadn't changed into her pajamas the previous night, leaving her in her battle clothes. Even so, she brought a spare with her as she raced into the bathroom to take advantage of the shower while she still could. One of the conveniences of being a fighter, she mused while washing her hair, was that one never really had to wonder what to wear. It had become apparent to her over the days that most just had several duplicates of the same outfit with minor alterations. The ones she had bought while shopping with Amy were hardly used, reserved for days she hadn't had classes with Elena or practices with the other members. There was a loud knock on the door as she finished her shower.

"Almost done in there?" It was Elesis' voice.

"Yeah!" She called back, feeling more energized and clean. The spare clothes she had were hastily folded into her small bag, and she threw it over her shoulder as she left her room to meet with the others. When she made it to the main lobby of the area the entire chase was there, Ronan having woken himself up early to see them off. Elesis was still visibly frustrated as she leaned up against the door frame, not turning her head as Arme entered the room. Ronan waved, looking at the rest of the group.

"So, I should meet up with you some time this afternoon. It shouldn't take too long." Elesis huffed.

"Fine, already! let's just get going!" She turned to face the door, motioning for the rest of the group to follow her. Before she could leave, however, Ronan grabbed her wrist.

"What?!" Elesis turned around again, staring defiantly at the blue haired knight.

"Be careful." With that, he handed her something Arme couldn't see. Whatever it was, it seemed to make Elesis blush parfusely.

"I don't need your stupid rose!" She exclaimed, though Arme also noted that she didn't drop the flower. Ronan grinned as she turned around and stormed out the door, waving to the rest of the group as they filed out the door behind her. When Arme left she slid the door shut behind her. The rest of the town most likely hadn't been warned on their leaving, as no one was up or around as they silently exited the village. As soon as she saw the large field winding out infront of them, Arme was dreading the day ahead. She quickly glanced over to Lass and noticed him watching her. Not quite ready to ask him for help, Arme opted to struggle through the day's running. She stretched before beginning; Elesis had decided to start out at a running speed that day.

"We're headed to Kerrie's Beach because someone filed a complaint!" Elesis called, recieving a cheer from Amy and Jin.

"Not for relaxing, Amy! We have reasons to believe they've elected another Harpie Queen." She yelled. There was another, less enthusiastic cheer heard from the direction of the muse. The news of the Harpie Queen didn't dampen Arme's spirits; partially because she didn't know what one was and partially because she had never been to a beach before. The idea of swimming brought a smile to her face. With a little more energy, Arme continued running with the group.

She wasn't nearly energetic one hour later, when Elesis' cry of 'Goblins and Harpies on the horizon!' reached her ears. Relieved as she was that the running was on a momentary halt, she didn't know how she was going to find the power to summon anything. As the rest of the fighters rose to meet the front line of goblins, Arme spun a shield around herself. She observed the group of enemies as well as she could. There were small, green clothed goblins with bags that she assumed to be full of stones, small red goblins with shovels, and... She searched the enemies for the harpies she had been told about, but couldn't find anything other than the goblins. Summoning a few fireballs with the reserves of her energy, Arme wearily looked for another enemy. _But... Where are the Harpies...? _

"**Arme! Look out!**" At the sound of Amy's voice Arme twisted around, looking for the threat. There were no enemies to be seen... Without warning, she heard a loud screech from above her. Her head flew up just in time to see a large bink bird flinging itself in her direction. She stared at it blankly. _I-I'm not sure... My shield can take that..._ In natural instinct, her hands flew up to cover her face. The impact was sudden; it wasn't from the right side, and didn't particularily hurt, either. Bewilderedly, Arme's eyes flew open.

"L-Lass!" He had somehow managed to make it to her before the large bird had sunk it's talons into the spot where she had been standing moments prior. Not responding, the silver haired boy continued to carry her until they were a safe distance away from where the harpies and goblins were.

"Stay here." He murmured, setting her down as the swarm came closer, seemingly following them. She sank down to the ground as she watched the fight, her overly sore legs refusing to hold her up any longer. Still determined to help however she could, Arme sent forward a few fireballs to assist in defeating the approaching horde. Most of them sputtered out before they could reach the enemies, some wavering unevenly and missing their target. The magician stopped moving entirely as one twisted away from her control, spinning in an odd spiral before changing direction and slamming directly into Lass' upper arm. Her eyes widened and she stared hopelessly as he winced, but continued fighting. The enemies were thinning out, several of the other chasers destroying bundles of the monsters at a time. When they were all gone Lass returned over to where she was sitting. Kneeling down, he stared at her.

"I did tell you you'd waste your energy, right?" He mentioned, seeming unworried even as she didn't respond and began healing the burn. Without much force or control behind it the flame hadn't burned deeply, but Arme still felt herself tearing up as she looked at the injury.

"I-I'm sorry..." She sniffled quietly, gasping as he picked her up.

"No crying, alright? I'm fine."

"...Mmhm..." Arme wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as he maneuvered her onto his back, standing back up with a stretch.

"Let's not keep the rest of them waiting." The group began running again as Lass and Arme rejoined them, Amy watching the two with a smile.

"The beach is about an hour from here." The assassin explained, Arme nodding, "Try to get some sleep." She rested her head lightly on his shoulder, the exhaustion of the battle luring her to sleep nearly immediately.

* * *

"Arme, wake up. We're at the beach." Arme blinked slowly, her eyes opening with slight delay, then flying open.

"The beach!" She exclaimed, hastily lifting her head off the silver haired boy's shoulder to look around. There was a long expansion of sand and water, small patches of grass here and there. The sun shone down upon the whole area, and Arme could only imagine the warmth of the sand and the water. Sensing her excitement, Lass put her down. Where as the rest of the group approached with caution, the purple haired girl ran onto the shore without much hesitation. As she had predicted, the sand was warm when she reached down to pick up a hand full. Feeling somewhat immature, the girl smiled as she began making a sand castle. Amy came to join her a couple minutes later.

"Hey! Come on, guys! we're here for a reason!" Elesis repremanded them. A light argument broke out between the muse and the knight, the three hardly noticing when there was a yell from Ryan.

"Guys, the Harpie welcoming crew is here!" Arme turned around quickly, her eyes locking on the swarm of large birds in the distance. She stood up to begin charging as much as she could before the birds made it to her spot, the rest of the group getting into battle stance. The harpies moved rather quickly; Arme hadn't had much of a chance to charge before the group of birds approached. She attempted a stone curse as the first of the harpies showed up, dropping several into the ocean. From there she teleported back to a point where she could better see how the battle was going on. Amy and Lass seemed to have the best advantage with hitting the birds, the others finding it simpler to destroy the goblins that were now lining the edges of the beach. Ryan transformed into a wolf to make it easier to reach up and snag the unfortunate harpies out of the sky, jin preferring to get to the stone goblins before they could throw their stones at any of the other chasers. Elesis... Arme's eyebrows furrowed as she watched the knight. Her moves seemed a little less smooth than they had the last time she had watched the red head fight. Her swings seemed a bit more choppy, her movements a bit less aware. The magician scanned the horizon. For the majority the harpies seemed to have stopped coming, but there was one large shadow on the horizon. Arme squinted at it for a moment and gasped. Another harpie was on it's way, at least five times as big as most of the other harpies.

"Harpie Queen!" She yelled, catching the rest of the chase's attention. The group all turned to the queen, most of the other minions fallen. Her mana full, Arme released a meteor on the remaining harpies. The queen managed to dodge the falling rocks, adjusting it's target so it was now following the mage. Not wasting time, the chase spiraled around the harpie. Most managed to land a decent hit as fireballs singed it's feathers, leading the Harpie Queen on a lopsided spiral. Refusing to be brought down, the monster flew higher. Aiming faster than ever for the magician, it had almost made it there when the group heard a large whoosh of air. Everyone including the harpie turned to look at the addition to the group. Arme stared, blinking several times. _A... Dragon?_ She vaguely remembered Amy telling her something about one, but couldn't remember what. She teleported to the rest of the chasers, watching anxiously as the dragon flew closer. A large flame came out of it's mouth, raining down on the harpie. Before the harpie queen could fall to the ground the large red dragon bit it, swallowing the monster that looked almost small in comparison. The dragon lighted down carefuly, and Arme may have been the only one who was surprised to see a person leaping off it's back.

"Ronan!" Elesis was the first to begin approaching him, staring questioningly.

"It's not even noon yet! How'd you get out of the meeting so quickly?!" She demanded. Ronan shrugged.

"When the meeting started I told them I had somewhere to be. They weren't happy, but..." He allowed the sentence to trail off, looking a the group. The red knight seemed several times happier as she turned back to them.

"So, Arme! Are you up to cooking some harpie for lunch?"

* * *

A/N: O_O 2 weeks for an update!? I'm sorry ;_; Certain parts of this chappie were killing me!!! Well, it's up, at least! I lost the internet connection on my laptop, so this is gonna be annoying to update xD Oh well =3 Please Review~!

-Utsuro


	11. Consuming Flames

A/N: I should get a writing schedule X_x I'm getting lazy O_o

Disclaimer: Must I state this againnnn? ;_; Incase you haven't gotten it yet... For the 10th time... I don't own Grand Chase or any of their lovely characters. I just take great joy in manipulating them with fan fiction OwO;;

Chapter 10: Consuming Flames

* * *

"Done!" Arme called the group in, indicating to the plate of sqewered harpie meat. After Elesis, in an extremely good mood, had decided that they would stay at the beach for the night instead of the nearby town they had planned on going to, Arme had been appointed with the task of cooking the oversized bird for lunch. She would have recruited Amy as an assistant, but the pink-haired girl seemed estatic to be allowed a vacation. She had hastily reached into her bag and grabbed something, leaving the area. Several minutes later she returned in a swim suit, running for the water. Jin had joined her a few moments later, and Elesis seemed to hyper to be slowed down. She was dragging Ronan with her along the beach, every once and a while stopping to point at something or another. Ryan seemed to have disappeared the moment the words 'staying at the beach' were heard. The left Lass as the only option for Arme to go to for help, and she had definetly needed it with removing the feathers from the selected harpie. With a few hesitant tugs on his sleeve and a begging tone she had the silver haired male helping her, the feathers removed quickly. With that step over, he had stayed long enough to offer his (cleaned) daggers to cut the harpie into chunks, and have those chunks thrown onto sewers around the fire. He had then pulled the same disappearing act as Ryan, saying he couldn't offer much more help unless she wanted the food badly burned. That had left her to sit next to the fire boredly as she watched the others, waiting somewhat impatiently for the meat to cook.

Now that it was done the rest of the chasers swarmed her, all looking for their fair share. Since the harpie was rather large there were many skewers to go around, causing Arme to sigh relievedly. Elesis seemed to have a particular love for the meat; she had grabbed nearly half of the kabobs before Ronan forced her to put some back.

"The others need to eat too," He repremanded lightly. The red-head grudgingly put them back, though her good mood still wasn't spoiled. Ryan and Lass came back from wherever they had been hiding to get some food, joining the group in their small circle. Arme took her portion last, and Elesis looked over the group with a glare that made it obvious who the eater of the three left over harpie-meat sqewers would be. Looking around, Arme quite suddenly noticed a large building on the horizon.

"Is that where we're going?" She asked after finishing her first sqewer. Following her gaze, Jin shook his head.

"That's the orc temple. There haven't been any complaints since they took out the leader over a year ago, so we have no reason to visit." He explained. Elesis nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. We'll just be passing it over, so the next important place is the Gorgo's Dungeon. we need to go through it to get to the Gorge of Oath. " She added. A moment later, she stood up.

"I forgot! The only people who've been here before are me, Ronan and Ryan! You guys have never..." Jin raised his hand.

"I was a Silver Knight, remember? I travelled alot." Amy nodded.

"I travelled with the silver knights for a while, so..." In the end, all eyes turned to Arme and Lass. The silver haired boy shook his head.

"If I've been here before, I certainly don't remember. The monsters here are weaker than in Ellia, so I suppose that's all that matters." Noting the blank look on Arme's face, they continued onto another topic.

"And who's registered their second job with their guild leader?" Jin raised his hand, Ryan following a moment later.

"We'll make a pit stop at Gaikoz' Castle for a few weeks, then. That way Some of us can work out what's been going on in the Foraken Barrows and Marsh of Oblivion. We'll stay at that abandoned castle somewhere inbetween the three." She decided quickly, looking over at Ronan. He gave a confirmational nod, glancing at the others.

"That's alright with everyone?" Amy nodded enthusiastically, an idea seeming to have hit her.

"Arme! I forgot to give you something before we left the town~" She called excitedly, handing her left over meat to a happy Elesis as she made a dive for her bag. After digging through it for a moment she pulled out a purple bathing suit, tossing it toward the mage with some other items.

"Ninan armour~" She smiled widely as she looked toward the rest of the group,"Everyone remembered theirs, right?" There were some hesitant nods as the group looked at the somewhat evil appearing female.

"Get changed when you finish, then!" She exclaimed, daring the rest of the group to oppose her. Arme blinked when she noticed Amy's smile turn into a glare, and traced the glare back to Lass. The assassin was giving her a disbelieving look.

"You are going to swim, right Lass?" She asked in a somewhat sinister sing-song voice. Disinterestedly Lass shook his head, gaping when Amy took out a rather oversized cello. Another wide smile creeped onto her face.

"I asked if you were going to swim, Lass." She repeated slowly, the instrument being tapped on the ground heavily with each word. Sensing his error, Lass gave a resigned nod. Placing down the cello, Amy clapped her hands.

"I'm glad we got that sorted out~!" She skipped away from the group and toward the water, allowing Arme to let out a breath. The last of her food gone, she went toward the shade of the nearby trees to change. She did so quickly, peeking around the tree self-conciously in her bathing suit. She gave a small wave as Elesis approached, suit in hand.

"You might want to get going, or Amy will start wondering where you are." She commented with a grin. The purple haired girl's eyes widened as she remembered the cello from minutes earlier. She muttered a quick goodbye to Elesis before heading to the sandy area of the beach. Jin was already there, dragged into the water by the overly hyper muse. She had surfaced a ball from somewhere and was currently rallying it back and forth between herself and the fighter. Arme watched quietly as she sat at the water's edge, her feet under the sun-warmed water. She made a pile of wet sand next to her, sculpting it quietly. The rest of the chase were slowly joining them, those who didn't want to participate still wearing swim suits. Amy turned to look at them when the ball finally splashed against the water, a pass from Amy not pushing it all the way across to Jin.

"Come on!" She cried, wading through the shore to reach the purple haired girl. Arme didn't notice until the pink haired girl had grabbed her arm, pulling her along and into the water. Despite her protests, Arme found herself wading in somewhat deep water. She gripped Amy's arm tightly trying to protest further as the pink haired girl continued into deeper water.

"You can let go now, Arme~!" Amy called, spinning. The combined confusion of her situation and her soaked hands made it difficult to grip Amy's arm, and she soon found herself without something to hold on to. Her face paled as she swung her arms quickly, the muse staring at her confusedly.

"I-I've never sw--" Arme couldn't continue her sentence, the somewhat hectic waves dragging her under with simplicity. Her swinging arms weren't seeming to do much, twisting her body as she opened her eyes. The water stung, and sight didn't seem to be doing much to help her predicament. She took a large breath as she felt herself somehow reach the surface again, the relief only momentary. Another wave was there to drag her down, and by then she had completely lost sight of the pink haired girl. Her body collided roughly with something, Arme feeling something wind around her wrist. She was yanked out of the water the next moment, gasping for breath as her free hand grabbed onto her only support.

"Well, ow." Her eyes flew open, and she found herself staring into cerulian eyes. _Lass! _She noticed then that she was grasping his hair roughly, but another large wave dispelled her of all thoughts of letting go.

"I'm not going to let you drown, so can you let go of my hair? That kind of hurts." He mentioned idly, releasing her wrist in favour of carrying her by her waist. She somewhat hesitantly complied, her arms wrapping around his neck instantly. From her view over his shoulder she could see nothing but water, the sky blending in and making it difficult to determine the exact horizon line. They made it into shallow waters quickly, Lass setting her down and stretching as Amy ran over to tackle her in a hug.

"**Arme~! Why didn't you tell me you couldn't swim?!**" She exclaimed, looking guiltily at the soaked magician.

"She tried to, Amy." The silver haired boy replied, rolling his eyes lightly. At this, Amy seemed surprised.

"I'm sorry!" Reaching up, Arme managed to pat Amy on the back.

"It's okay, stuff like this happens to me all the time." She glanced over at Lass and he nodded, a small smile on his face as he gave a sigh.

"Far too often."

"O-Oh... Well, I can teach you how to swim!" The muse cried, seeming to be excited again. Lass eyed them carefully.

"Amy, don't do anything reckless with her. She's not durable like Jin or Elesis." He explained as he walked back to the shore, a light brush colouring Arme's cheeks.

"Awww! You're concerned!" Amy called after him. Shrugging, the assassin continued walking.

"With you teaching her to swim, Amy, anyone would be." Amy giggled as Lass left, pulling Arme gently into the shallow water. Jin joined them a moment later.

"Amy...? Didn't we just cover that she can't swim?"

"That's why I'm teaching her! The pink haired girl exclaimed with a smile. Looking confused, the red-head didn't bother to continue asking questions. The three spent a fairly large portion of the day attempting to teach Arme to swim, the small magician having a large ammount of difficulty with it. Her experience with swimming hadn't been a good one, but had convinced her that no matter where she was in the water, there was a good chance someone could get to her. Elesis waded in a few feet to come watch them for a while. Ronan had followed, letting Arme know that the red-headed knight couldn't swim either. Said knight promptly blushed and went off to the shore again.

By the time Elesis was calling for dinner the purple eyed girl had managed to grasp the basics of swimming and back floating. She didn't feel comfortable in the water as the sky started darkening, so she returned to where the knight was waiting for a second course of harpie meat.

"I'll help this time," She added, looking over to where Ronan was dragging a harpie.

"Thanks!" Arme said, accepting the help with ease. Lass had already helped her... Three times that day? She flushed at the thought of having to ask again. Asking, it appeared, was unnecessary. As the two girls sat down to begin de-feathering the bird, Lass came over to join them. Daggers seemed to be the most ideal for the task, as the two had been staring at Elesis' spear moments before. Ronan's sword was also unavaliable; the blue haired male had gone off to find Ryan, who had left the area a few hours previous. When the feathers had been removed Elesis stared at the meat, clearly at a loss for where to begin. Arme stared at it thoughtfully.

"Elesis, could you go out and find five sticks for me?" She asked. The knight seemed to be relieved to be given a certain task; cooking wasn't one of her specialties. With Lass' help Arme had the meat cut into three even, large chunks. The water of the ocean was surprisingly clean, and overly efficient for cleaning the meat. They had finished preparations for the meat when Elesis returned.

"I got the sticks!" She called, throwing the bundle towards the pair. Lass caught it before it could wack the small magician in the face, handing it to her after. With one, Arme squewered each of the three pieces of the meat. She crossed two on each of the fire, propping up the meat inbetween the two as a sort of spit. Elesis watched the meat silently as Arme began cleaning up, the silver haired boy having left when the spit had been set up.

"Will it be ready soon?" Elesis questioned, staring hungrily. Arme laughed and shook her head.

"Elesis, the meat will take about an hour." The red head groaned, leaning back on the beach to stare at the sky.

"Well, this is going to get boring..." Arme turned toward the knight, blinking. Somehow, the knight had managed to already fall asleep. Shaking her head lightly, she smiled as she watched Jin and Amy rallying the ball again. The sun was going down which meant the water had to be getting cold, but neither seemed to mind. The two seemed to be extremely happy, laughter easily distinguishable from Arme's position on the sand. She reached into her bag, pulling out her pajamas. It would be much more convenient to change while no one was around. She peered around quietly as she entered the small covering of the trees and wondered where exactly Lass had disappeared to. She blushed and hoped he wasn't in the forest, the thought compelling her to change quickly. When she returned, Ronan was sitting on the shore with Ryan sitting a little distance away. The night had gotten cold, and Ronan had brought Elesis' blanket out of her bag to lay it over her. The spell knight looked up as she approached.

"Hey." He greeted her quietly,quite obviously trying to keep the sleeping knight just that; sleeping.

"She looks alot more... Peaceful when she's sleeping." Arme observed, watching the red-head as she curled slightly under the blanket. Her hair tie had been taken out (most likely by Ronan), and Arme only then realized exactly how long it was. The red locks were laying on the blanket in hopes that they wouldn't get sand in them, though Arme doubted sleeping on a beach would be very convenient in those means. Ronan gave a quiet laugh.

"Definetly." He brushed back a strand of hair that had gotten into the red haired girl's face, sighing as he leaned back on his palms. Arme watched the scene with a smile, looking over to where Jin and Amy were. The two were still in the water, though the activity of splashing each other seemed to have become the more entertaining one. And... Her eyes lighted across the shore to where the orange haired boy sat, staring blankly out at the water. Ronan caught her glance and sighed.

"Places like this are still... Difficult for him, even after all this time. Even though it's nearing a year... " Arme watched the druid worriedly.

"But... Is there anything we can do for him...?" Ronan shook his head sadly.

"We've tried. He just wants to be alone..." Arme let her eyes close. _Loosing someone that close to me... _Her mind wandered to all those she had met. She hadn't really had friends in the other world, so she had never really stopped to think about it, but... Opening her eyes again, she looked over those on the beach. _What if one of them was gone?... What if one of them... Died? _The thought in itself was almost enough to make her cry. She didn't know much about friendship, but couldn't imagine loosing the group of people she was with.

"Ronan...?" The blue haired knight turned to look at her, pulling the sheet up a bit higher on Elesis as she shivered.

"Did she... Did Lire die?" She questioned lightly, not entirely comfortable with asking. Ronan didn't move for a second, his eyes downcast. She was about to take the question back when he answered.

"No. At least... We don't think she did." Arme stared at him bewilderedly.

"S-She's not?! Why haven't you gone to get her back yet, then? Surely whatever happened wasn't bad enough for her to stay away from you guys for this long?" Ronan gave another sigh.

"We don't know where she is. Well... We have a vague idea, but we can't get her back from there. Don't you think we would if we could?" He sent another glance over to Ryan, "This past year's been so rough on him... If we could find her, we would bring her back." Arme instantly felt bad for bringing the topic up. Ronan sounded extremely remorseful as he watched the druid.

"He thinks it's his fault." The purple haired girl sighed, remembering her conversation with Ryan roughly a week earlier. _"Weren't you listening? It was because of me." _The conversation died quietly, Arme watching the food carefully while Ronan reached into his bag. She turned to watch curiously, eyes widening as he pulled out a hair brush. He cautiously began pulling it through the sleeping girl's hair while Arme stared.

"Ronan... Why are you brushing Elesis' hair?" The knight shrugged.

"Because she hardly ever does. It gets tangled in battle, so..." The magician almost laughed at the oddity of the situation.

"But shouldn't she wake up?"

"She's a heavy sleeper. I've been doing this for nearly two years, and she hasn't woken up once." Arme chuckled quietly. She stood up, stretching as she went over to her bag. Pulling out her spell book, she went back to the fire. She opened it up to about half way through the first chapter, where she had been the day before. Reading passed the time quickly, and Arme had nearly forgotten about the meat until Ronan reminded her.

"Can you wake Elesis up? The food's done..." She questioned sleepily, rubbing her eyes as she reached for the stick with the chunks of meat. Nodding, The spell knight went off to gather the others while Arme finished the preparations of the meat. By the time everyone was situated around the fire all three chunks had been sliced into fairly thick slabs. Elesis seemed genuinely amazed that meat could be cooked in more than one way, and she stared at the platter as it was passed around. The other members were similarly amazed, though it seemed to be more on the side of 'We can actually eat decently while travelling!'. They finished eating quickly, Arme falling asleep nearly the moment she was done.

* * *

Arme was woken up rather abruptly by the sound of a loud scream. Her head flew up off the ground to look around. The rest of the members seemed to have heard it as well, And most of them had already stood up, some already changed. Before she could comprehend what was going on Amy had yanked her to her feet, for once a serious expression on the pink haired girl's face.

"Arme, we have to get moving **now**." She said quietly, going back to her own bag to finish packing. The fire had been smothered out, and Arme ran over to the tree shade to change, all the while wondering what was going on. _Who was screaming? _As she returned to the nearly packed group, another loud scream was heard, an unidentifiable sound roaring up after it and chilling Arme's blood. Lass threw her bag at her as she made it to the camp, picking her up as soon as she had it on her back. Everyone was moving faster than usual even though it was still dark out, and the path was nearly invisible.

"L-Lass?! What's going on?!" She questioned as another cry rose into the air. The boy hesitated before answering.

"If I had to take a guess... I'd say it was the Gorgos." He responded, his voice quiet. Elesis nodded from her position at the front of the team.

"We have to hurry, guys!" She yelled, managing to lead them through the darker areas of the forest they had entered. A bright glow was coming into view, screams filling the air as they got closer and closer to the village. _But it's the middle of the night... Why would there be lights out? _Her question was soon answered. Within five minutes they had made it through to the other side of the woods, where a village laiden in flames awaited. Small red dragon-like creatures could be seen flying through the air, breathing flames as they swooped through the darkness. People were running every which way, most injured or burned, some being lifted off by the monsters.

"Damn it!" Elesis cursed as she entered the village, her eyes searching the area, "What would they want with this place?!" She quickly turned to the others as they entered the village center.

"Lass, Amy, you guys are on the higher up gorgos and gons! Try to get to the ones carrying off people first, and make sure they come down safe! Ryan, you can help me with taking out the lower monsters! Ronan, you need to search through for the survivors and bring them back here! Arme, set up as large a shield as you can and heal the injured! Jin, you need to stay here as well to make sure no gons attack while she's trying to heal! Let's go!" Everyone followed Elesis' instructions flawlessly, setting out in different directions the second their command was issued. Though Arme wasn't sure exactly how to spread the barrier of the saver further, she managed to cover a fair area along the center of the town. She kneeled down helplessly as she waited for the first of the survivors to show up. She looked slowly around at the burning buildings, the sound of screams, roars, and crackling fire a less than comforting back ground.

"Here." Lass was the first back, placing a middle-aged man infront of her. His arm seemed to be crushed, sporting several long claw marks through it. She winced, forcing herself to keep her eyes open as she healed the wound. Regular cure would be needed; there was a chance the people might not last with a regeneration spell.

"Try not to dwell on the blood too much." The assassin murmured, jumping onto a rooftop to continue his part in the mission. Arme's hands were shaking as she stopped the flow of blood, using a cloth from the bag to clean the wound gently. It wasn't a perfect heal but it would have to do; Ronan and Amy had both arrived. The pink haired girl was carrying an unconcious black haired boy, a small group of children following the spell knight. Ronan departed immediately, the children staring after him worriedly. Amy stayed a bit longer, laying the boy down carefully. He was still concious, his back and arms sporting large gashes.

"I'm hurting..." The boy wimpered as Arme began healing. Tears spilled from her eyes silently as she healed, person after person being brought in. Many brought by Lass and Amy were children, their lighter weight making them a simple target for the gons to lift off. Elesis and Ryan made it back soon enough, the axe-wielder carrying a burned elderly woman. They went to the group of huddled up children first, Elesis kneeling down before them.

"Hey... Almost all the monsters are gone now, okay?" She explained gently. Several of the children went up to her, pulling on her shirt lightly.

"Do you know where my mommy is, Elesis-sama?" One asked quietly.

"And mine!" Another spoke up, afraid to be forgotten. Before the red head could answer the children had swarmed around her, pulling on her sleeves and questioning loudly. The knight's eyes were shining whem she looked down at them.

"R-Ryan is going to take you to a safe place... Follow him, please..." Her voice died quietly, though she tried to keep a smile on her face. The confused children turned to where the orange haired elf was standing. He took a quick glance at Elesis, then back to the children.

"Yeah. Let's get going." He began to walk out of the shield, carving a safe path for the children and injured to walk to walk. They all followed him with a smile on thier faces, clearly thinking they were going to see their parents. A few had already reunited, their parents having been brought in earlier. The rest, though... Ronan came back just as Elesis punched the ground, a large crack sounding.

"Damn it! Why would Kaze'Aze attack here?! There's no..." Tears were threatening to spill as Ronan came over, laying a hand on her back.

"Come with me to do the search... We may be able to find some of their parents." He helped her up, Arme watching sadly. She didn't bother to wipe her face of the tears that kept falling as more people were brought in. Though it was a decent amount of people, Arme knew better than to think most had survived. From what she had been told by Lass earlier during their travels the village was much larger than it looked, nearing two hundred inhabitants. So far, she had only treated around fifty people. Tears kept flowing as she looked at the newest girl that Amy had brought in. Her red, curly hair was tattered and matted with blood, her dress, ripped and stained with red. She babbled endlessly as Amy set her down infront of Arme, and her large silver eyes peered inquisitively up at the magician as she began healing the burns on her arms and legs. Eventually, she reached up to tug on Arme's shirt.

"Miss? I'm Hinahime!" She smiled widely, seeming to ignore the pain that must have been coming from her wounds. In the face of the little girl, Arme did her best to compose herself.

"H-hello... Are you alright?" She asked quietly. The little girl frowned before continuing.

"The pink haired lady said you would make all my boo-boos better, so I'm fine! But..." She seemed hesitant, so Arme urged her to continue.

"Yes?" The red haired child looked up determinedly, her eyes pleading.

"My little brother was snatched up by a monster, miss! Daddy told me to take care of him before he went out to find Mommy, and I don't think they're coming back. I went out to look for them, but I really didn't know he was following me... One of the dragon thingies grabbed him, and I couldn't make it to him on time before it flew away. So... You're one of the good guys, right? I need you to save Hiromaru for me! He has red hair like me, so he should be easy to find!" Arme watched the girl with surprise in her eyes. _She doesn't care about her own wounds... She knows her parents aren't going to come back... But she's still thinking about her brother? _Her attempts to set up a barricade for her tears failed at that point, raining down as she smiled lightly.

"I'll... Try my best." The girl grinned, skipping around and spinning.

"I know you will, Miss! Because you're a nice person!" Arme watched the girl spiralling around with a lack of concern that was admirable, and just then noticed Lass lighting down next to her with another middle-aged person. She quickly grabbed his arm before he could jump off.

"Lass, where's Elesis?!" She asked as she started to heal.

"Probably with Ronan, why?"

"Go get her, now!" Deciding to leave the further questions until later at Arme's tone of voice, the silver haired boy nodded and went off in search of the red-head. He returned moments later, the knight in tow.

"What is it?!" She questioned, looking at the mage worriedly. Arme stared determinedly back.

"I want to go to the Gorgo's Dungeon!" Elesis seemed surprised, Lass even more so.

"You can't, Arme! It's too dangerous, and people here need healing!" Unable to find a retort, Arme stared silently until Amy dropped in.

"I can heal, Lass~" She exclaimed. The silver haired boy shot her a glare.

"Even so, who's going to take your position?"

"I can!" Everyone turned shock to see Jin standing there, nearly forgotten, "There aren't ground enemies any more, there's no point in my being here. I can get onto the roofs and fight, there are only a few enemies left here anyway. Arme's idea is a good one, we need to get rid of the source of the monsters." Elesis looked somewhat hesitant until she noticed the red-haired child that had grabbed Arme's hand and was spinning around in a circle.

"I knew you would go! You're gonna save my brother, right?!" Arme tried to give a smile, and Elesis seemed startled by the event. She nodded lightly, and Lass sighed.

"In that case... I guess I'm coming too. Arme, Elesis and I will clean out the dungeon, you can keep the town under control?" The others nodded, Ronan having just arrived.

"Be careful!" He called after the group. Elesis laughed.

"When am I not?" This recieved a smile from the concerned spell knight, and he turned back to continue on his job.

"Good luck~!" The pink haired girl called, a soft healing melody beginning to come from her violin. Arme felt more rejuvinated, feeling her lost mana begin to refill. When she was full, the group began moving away from the village. As the three started moving faster, Lass picked up Arme.

"This is going to be your first time in a dungeon, so **be careful**." He muttered, still sounding fairly displeased on the entire event. Arme nodded, waiting impatiently for them to reach the mouth of the cave. _Please don't let me be too late..._ In no time at all they had come up to a rather large hole, coming up almost like the opening of a den and leading further into the ground. the walls were completely burned, the black seemingly painted on and not leaving much light. The darkness nearly consumed them as they entered the cave, running deeper and deeper into the dungeon. The air around them heated up quickly, and soon they were in a room aglow with embery walls and pools of lava. Lass set Arme down here, walking forward cautiously. It came as no surprise when the shriek of a gorgos was heard, gons surrounding it. A mauled body lay in the center of them, Arme making her primary goal to reach it. She set a shield around herself as the others started fighting, teleporting into the center. Using reverse gravity she was able to clear out the circle of enemies, giving herself time to kneel down next to the body. A hand was placed lightly on the elderly man's half-devoured chest, and Arme felt her stomache clench up. He was dead.

"Get fighting!" Arme hardly had time to move before the red-haired knight slid in between the magician and an approaching gon. _Elesis is right..._ Making an effort not to look at the body, Arme stood up again. The room was nearly empty, only a few fire balls needed to clear out the rest. They continued into the next room, and Arme was shocked to hear a loud scream. She ran ahead, nearly tripping into a large pool of lava. She managed to right herself before she could fall, and turned back to see Lass staring at her warily. Ignoring his concern, Arme peered around the room. She was met with the view of a small gorgos standing over a terrified woman, several bodies scattered on the floor around her. The assassin was the first to make it to her, twisting his scimitar to slice through the monster before it could get closer. Arme teleported over to where the woman sat up, her entire body shaking. Arme healed as she began stuttering.

"I-It was... T-terrible... So... Many children... Futher in the c-cave.... There are c-children, p-please... save them-m...." The woman didn't appear to be able to say much, but Arme felt her entire body fill with dread.

"The way out is straight through there, when you get out run to the beach and don't look back! There's an orange haired boy there who'll protect you. " Elesis explained.

"T-The children..." Elesis nodded.

"We'll save them too, so don't worry." The fear didn't leave the woman's eyes as she stood up, looking at the group a final time before running out of the cave. They made a quick check on the rest of the bodies, but couldn't find anyone else still alive. Arme shook as they continued into the next room, staring at the setup. There were no enemies to be seen, only large platforms, spaced out.

"I'm not in the mood for this right now..." Elesis muttered, Arme watching as she began jumping from platform to platform. Some jumps were wider than others, and Arme was almost certain she was about to fall, but the red head never did. Lass seemed to have no problem with the large gaps; he jumped over them with ease. Watching them made it clear what she had to do, though Arme was seriously having doubts on some of the jumps that were being made. She hesitantly jumped across the first gap, no wider than the length of her shoe. The next one was a bit further, requiring Arme to make an effort to cross. It was also going higher, making it difficult to reach. She managed to cross three panels with ease, looking at the fourth in disbelief. _There's no way. _The next panel was higher than her height, and easily a further distance than Arme believed she could jump even if there was no height difference. She stared at it for a moment in confusion, breathing in. _I can do this, I can do this, I can... _She made the jump with as little thought as she could, screaming involentarily as a geyser of lava shot up behind her. Her arms retracted and she could feel herself miss the platform's edge by several inches. A hand closed around her wrist before she could fall into the firey pit below her, and Arme didn't even have to look up to know the person who had just heaved her onto the panel was Lass.

"Is there any particular reason you didn't just teleport?" He questioned with a sigh as he picked her up. Arme blushed from embarassment. _Teleporting! How... Obvious. _She smiled lightly and shrugged. They made it to the other side without error, Lass refusing to put down the accident-prone female even when she declared determinedly that she could make it to the other side on her own. Elesis was waiting at the end, urging them to hurry through to the next area.

"We're approaching the large Red Gorgos now..." She cautioned them quietly, readying her spear as she strode into the next room. Platforms lay everywhere, and Arme could see something moving. Lass went into action first, running at the monster before Arme could fully identify it. Elesis followed shortly behind, the mage casting fire balls around her to send toward the red mass in the corner. The assassin's scimitar collided roughly with it's side, an almost mettalic crash sounding from it. Furiously, the red monster turned to face them. Its small eyes looked over the room quickly, noting the three humans that were attempting to injure it. Elesis' newly sharpened spear did some damage, though it wasn't enough to stop the Gorgos from leaping away from the two and toward the mage.

"**Arme! Jump!**" Elesis' yell confused Arme, not giving her time to respond as the Gorgos landed infront of her with a thundering stomp. The shaking of the ground threw the small girl into the air, leaving her wide open to it's swinging claws. She was thrown into the wall, her back hitting it without mercy.

"Nnhh..." Arme's head was spinning when she looked back up and noticed the monster lunging toward her again. She could hardy manage a teleport away from the monster before it nearly crashed into the wall she had been thrown into, turning toward her furiously. By then the assassin and the knight had managed to get a bit further with it, chunks of the Gorgos' scales flying in every direction. It shrieked in pain, leaping up again. Arme was prepared that time, managing to teleport away before the beast could knock her into the sky.

"Meteor!" Arme yelled as loudly as she could, her wand raised as she wondered wether or not meteors could be summoned in an enclosed area. They apparently could, judging by the large rocks that came pummeling down on the Gorgos moments later. It slowed down considerably, though still didn't release its target on the magician. Elesis' spear was jabbed into it painfully, sending the monster into a frenzy as it lunged at Arme. Her head buzzing, the purple haired girl hardly had time to realize what was happening until she had been slammed into the wall again, the Gorgos weight combined with hers nearly crushing her. She didn't even have enough clear thoughts to scream when the Gorgos sunk its teeth deeply into her side, lifting her up. Her mind registered the incredible pain, but she was unable to even lift her staff as the Gorgos stood up to its full height again.

"**Arme**!" She could hear yelling, but wasn't certain wether or not it was Elesis or Lass; possibly both. All she could feel was the swing of the Gorgos' head as it looked around, and it's awquard movements as something hit it. Moments later she could feel the Gorgos crashing into the wall, it's teeth clenching tighter around her and then going slack entirely. She hit the ground like a dead weight, lacking the energy to move. She could hardly feel it as she was gently propped up against someone.

"Stupid... I told you it was too dangerous..." _Lass... _She could hear the worry in his voice, but couldn't find the power to vocie a reply._ Why did I come here anyway...? _Her thoughts were blurring, but she knew it had been important. Finally, a word came to mind.

"Hiromaru..." She could feel liquid dripping from her mouth as she forced herself to stand, batting away the hands that tried to pull her back down.

"I have to find..." Her eyes finally rested on the corner where the Gorgos had been when they entered. A pile of bodies were lying there, most with several pieces missing. Her stomach churning and her steps slurred, Arme made it to the other side of the dungeon. She was vaguely aware of Elesis and Lass following her and saying something, but couldn't be bothered to listen. The people piled ontop of one another, and Arme's eyes desperately searched those visible. Some of the people that were still concious were watching the injured mage warily, and she tried to focus. _"He has red hair like me, so he should be easy to find!" _Searching, her eyes finally landed on a small body with red hair. She made her way over hastily, dropping to her knees next to him. She grasped his shoulder carefully, pulling him over so she could see his face. When she could, her blood iced over. The small boy's face was coated in a thick layer of blood, large cuts lining his small arms in spirals. The worst of the entire scene was the overly shallow breaths that came from his chest, even though an oversized claw was protruding from it.

"H-Hiromaru...?" Arme questioned, her voice cracking several times. There was no response from the small body, though even with it Arme couldn't ignore the truth. The child wasn't going to make it. Ignoring all voices of reason, Arme began pouring the last of her energy into a cure. Nothing was resulting from the glow of her healing, the last breaths of the boy hiccuping and dieing out. Tears flowed, but she refused to stop healing. _I promised... I said I would bring him back! _Her hand pressed down into the wound, and she was no longer able to see clearly. What she could feel, however, was someone yanking her arm away from the child. She struggled violently, failing miserably at reclaiming her hand.

"Let m.... Let-t me **go**!" She demanded as loudly as she could, unable to push away from the person.

"Arme... He's dead." She could recognize Lass' voice, even though her sight was giving out on her. A hand pressed on her back, trying to keep her still even as she attempted to move away.

"**No, he's not! I can still save him! I promised!**" Her demands didn't seem to be getting her anywhere, and soon she was sucessfully pinned against Lass' chest.

"**Let me go!**" She yelled miserably, a hacking cough passing through her lips as she tried to move, even a little.

"Arme, if you use up any more of your energy you'll die too." The voice spoke sternly, Arme feeling her energy drain out of her as her head landed on his shoulder. Tears streamed endlessly as she made one last half-hearted attempt to escape.

"I don't care... I can still..." She could feel herself being picked up and held tightly.

"Well I do, so just stay put for a while, would you?" _I don't have much of a choice, now do I? _She felt like a broken doll as she lay there, unable to even hear the conversation going on between the knight and assassin. Her body swayed lightly as they made their way out of the cave, luring her to sleep.

"Arme? Try to stay awake for a little longer... We need to get you to Amy." Her eyes opened as the air around them cooled, and moon light intruded her vision.

"Miss!" She couldn't name the voice, but she could hear when it joined in with her silent sobs, echoing through the night.

* * *

A/N: Well that was... Depressing O_o Please review, it means alot to me! I don't care if all you type is a smiley face or something, It'll still make me happy ;3

-Utsuro


	12. Injuries and Insight

A/N: Chapter 11 initiated~ It doesn't feel like I've written 10 chapters+ proluge before this O_O

Disclaimer: I will own Grand Chase the day radioactive llamas take over the world. Err... Probably not x_x

Chapter 11: Injuries and Insight

* * *

_"Lass, let her go! Your squeezing her is making the bleeding worse!" _Vague words muddled together in Arme's head, and she could feel the warmth surrounding her fade away. _N-no... I'm cold... _She was placed on something cool, and all she could recognize was the burning pain in her side. Instinctually she tried to curl into a ball, but was unable to move at all.

_"Ronan, help out here with holy inferno! Someone check to see if there are any healers among the survivors, we need all the help we can get!" _Sounds blurred together, people speaking rapidly.

_"Stay with us, Arme..." _Arme tried to make a sound, anything to let them know she was there, could hear what was going on. No sounds came out, no motions registered with her limbs. She was forced to sit silently and listen while the rest of the group followed instructions.

_"Someone start a fire, she's getting cold!" _A few moments after this instruction was given Arme could feel warmth seep into her skin again. It was tiring, but Arme forced herself to stay in the state of awareness. She was almost certain if she fell asleep something bad would happen. A cool cloth was pressed against the injury on her side, causing great relief and a great sting. She waited quietly while the wound was cleaned out, wavering to unconciousness. _I... Know I shouldn't, but... I'm tired..._ With a last few resistant breaths, Arme found herself lulled into sleep.

"Nnhh...!" Arme burst into a violent fit of coughs as she awoke, shooting up from the place she lay. Pain pierced her body from her side, and her hands flew to the wound as her body buckled over. She felt gauze wrapped tightly over the bite, though her hand still came back with a pink tint. Looking around the room, the purple haired girl realized she was alone. She was in a small bed room that wasn't her own, several layers of gauze and bandages lying on the bedstand next to her. The floor had speckles of red painting it, along with the blanket lying ontop of her. Someone had changed her into her pajamas, though the top had the bottom few buttons undone to make for easier acess to the gauze. A chair sat next to the bed, currently unoccupied. Arme was about to attempt standing when she was pulled into another series of coughs, her hand coming away from her mouth with a smear of blood. She felt dizzy, but it didn't stop her from moving to place her feet on the floor. Standing up was an overly difficult task; anything involving moving her body in that state was bound to cause pain. Gripping the armrest of the chair, Arme heaved herself up and nearly toppled over onto the seat. She looked up; the door was still a decent way away. Deciding to risk it, the purple haired girl pushed away from the chair in a lunge for the door. She managed to grip the handle before she fell, and she used it to pull herself up to rest in the doorway. She twisted the handle and found herself in a living room like area. A small window lay not too far away from it, so she used the wall as a support and carefully made it to the chair placed infront. She collapsed in the chair for a moment, forehead resting on the window sill before she looked out it.

Outside awaited a sight Arme had hoped to avoid. The house was on a small hill covered in green grass, hovering over the burned remains of a village. Arme watched worriedly as people could be seen walking around down below, most sporting shovels and other tools. She waved lazily as one turned to look at the house, meeting eyes with the stranger for a second. He seemed surprised and ran off right after, leaving Arme with a slight frown. Was it that odd to see her awake? She was unable to continue the thought, as the front door to the right of her window burst open moments later. The first to burst in was Elesis, most of the chase filing in after her. The two missing were Amy and Ryan, though Arme couldn't fathom where they were. Elesis twisted around once she was in the room, eyes locking on the small magician.

"You. Bed. Now." She demanded, pointing at Arme.

"But it took me alot of effort to get here!" She protested dully, allowing herself to be picked up by Lass a second later regardless. She found herself back in the bedroom a bit later, the chase staring at her as she smiled guiltily back at them.

"So... Umm..." No one was able to get anything in before Amy shot into the room, flinging herself at the injured girl on the bed.

"Arme! You woke up!' The purple haired girl nodded with a laugh, leaning back on the fluffed up pillows as Amy released her. When she did, the pink haired girl was frowning.

"Never do that again! You almost died, Arme!" Arme sighed, her eyes widening when she remembered exactly what had happened. Tears came to the corner of her eyes as she looked at the rest of the chasers.

"Where's the little girl that was looking for her brother...?" She questioned quietly, avoiding the worried glances sent her direction. Ronan was the first to speak.

"We buried him yesterday. She cried, but I think she was worried about what happened to you." He watched her expression carefully, "Arme, there wasn't anything else you could have done." She closed her eyes, unwilling to voice the protest that was rising in her throat. _I could have... I know I could have..._ Allowing a sigh, she looked back to the group surrounding her bed.

"How many survivors were there?" She asked, her hands folding on her sheets.

"Seventy-six. Over half of their population was wiped out, even with us not all that far away." A remorseful look took over Elesis' face as she told Arme the number, and the mage felt bad for asking.

"Are there any who still need healing?"

"A few, but I can deal with them~ I doubt you could heal right now even if we let you try, Arme." Arme frowned at the comment, looking down at her hands.

"But... What can I do?" She questioned. The group exchanged a glance, with a sigh that let Arme know they didn't really want her to be moving at all.

"Sleep. If you move around, your wound will just open up again. You'll just be a burden." Her eyes flew up to the door way where Lass was standing, his back against the frame as he spoke. He silently left the room a moment later. Arme stared after him helplessly, the tone in his voice sounding oddly hurtful. Amy noticed, and she placed her hand over the injured girl's.

"Don't mind him, Arme. He's still a little sore from the whole Gorgos-nearly-eating-you-and-you-almost-killing-yourself-by-healing thing. He'll get over it soon, hopefully." Elesis blinked suddenly, reaching into her bag.

"Actually, Arme, I think I do have something I need you to do." The chase watched for a moment as she searched her bag, finally surfacing a somewhat crumpled piece of paper. She handed it to Arme, and for a second the girl just stared at it disbelievingly. The sheet in itself took a few seconds for Arme to translate, as it was predictably in Bermesian.

"Grand Chase... Entrance Survey?" At this, the rest of the group gave a light chuckle. Elesis shrugged.

"It arrived by bird yesterday morning. For some reason, the Knight Master makes us each take one. It really doesn't matter what you write, though." She explained. Before Arme could ask anything, there was a loud knock on the door. Elesis stuck her head out the door, yelling something quietly before turning back into the room.

"That's our que to get going, guys. We can't leave all the re-building to Ryan!" With that, all of the chasers aside from Amy and Arme left the room. The magician sighed, setting down the paper.

"Amy... How long have I been out, and what's going on?" The dancer thought for a second.

"Only one day. We actually thought it would be alot longer than that, so the others decided to start helping the town reconstruct while I stayed here and acted as a nurse to you and the other injured people that need their wounds seen to." Arme sighed.

"Which means... How long am I on bedrest for?" Amy leaned back in her chair, her feet barely touching the ground as she held onto the night stand as a support.

"You're healing pretty fast, so... Two or three more days, maybe~ The Gorgos didn't hit anything vital~" The magician sighed in relief, looking over the survey. Amy came to look over her shoulder as she started reading some of the questions out loud.

"Name..." She took a few seconds to scrawl down 'Arme' in Bermesian, biting her lip as she translated the next question. _Class..._ She hesitated for a moment, slowly writing out 'Magician' in the blank. For a moment she stared dully at the next question, wondering exactly how necessary it was. _Weapon? _She considered for a second writing down 'Scimitar' or something, just to see if they would actually believe her. Sighing and writing 'staff' in the space, she looked down at the next question.

"Birth date..." Writing down 'December 21st' wasn't a great challenge, much to her relief. The numbers in Bermesian seemed to be the same as English. Her eyes widened as she read the next question, and she turned pink as she read it over again. _Surely they don't expect me to answer this? _Next on the list read 'Most Embarassing Moment'. She tapped her pencil against her lip for a second, debating wether or not to just leave the space blank or actually write. Only thinking of events that had happened in Bermesiah, her mind flew to an incident that had gone on about a week before Ryan had returned to the house.

* * *

_Out of boredom she had been drawing on her bed, the window left open for the convenience of a certain silver-haired assassin. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she tried to capture the likeness of Elesis on the paper; sketches of Ronan, Lass, Amy and Jin lying on the bed next to her. Glancing at the window, she sighed. She and Amy had planned to go shopping that day, but in the end the pink haired girl had had to visit somewhere on reccomendation of one of the elders. This left Arme casually dressed and with nothing to do, somewhat hoping the thief would show up and provide amusement. She gasped as a large gust of wind flew into the room and she threw her arms down on the stack of papers lying next to her, a flurry of purple hair flowing in every way obscuring her view and disallowing her from seeing the stack. _

_When the winds calmed down she opened her eyes, sorting out the papers in her hands. She put them back in order, noticing something amiss. She searched through them again and found, much to her dismay, that the picture she had drawn of Lass was gone. Her eyes grazed the room quickly, no trace of the picture catching her sights. She started to worry as she stood up to look around, placing the other pictures in her dresser to keep them from flying away before something in the window caught her eye. With its white colour at first she had assumed it was Lass, hanging outside her window again. A closer inspection led to the discovery that it was actually the picture, snagged firmly by one of the branches on the tree outside. She looked at it determinedly. It didn't seem as though it would blow away, but the window was Lass' preferred method of entry. She had no doubts that if she left it there, the assassin would find it. There was a chance that that could lead to some odd questions on his behalf, and even though it was fairly explainable Arme didn't feel like going through it that particular day. A light frown set on her face and her tounge sticking out ever the slightest, Arme reached as far out the window as she could. The paper was still several inches from her hands, pulling a frustrated sigh from the magician. With one knee on the window sill, she kept one hand on the frame and the other reaching out toward the paper. Her height disallowed her other foot to touch the ground, and she soon brought it up to join her first leg on the window. Her first foot was placed up on the ledge as she reached further, her hand nearly touching the sheet. She most likely would have reached it, had a silver haired boy not decended on the tree branch in front of her at that particular moment. _

_"Wah?!" Easily startled, the mage let out a small shriek as she accidentally pushed off with her foot. The momentum propelled her forward for a second, her hand latching onto the picture as gravity began pulling her down. She let out a louder shriek as she felt herself plummeting down, something wrapping around her ankle at the last second and preventing her from falling to an unseemly death. Her eyes flew open and her head swung up, suddenly remembering Lass. As soon as her eyes fell on him she remembered something else unfortunate; due to the plans for an excursion, the magician had been wearing a skirt that day. Her face lighting up like a burner on high, the girl's hand flew to her skirt as she pressed it against her legs, her other still clutching the picture to her chest. _

_"Ahh! Lass! Put me down!" She yelled, her eyes squeezing shut. _

_"I can't!" Came the response, "Do you __**want **__to fall?!" Her eyes opened again, her head falling to look down as she felt herself being pulled up. Her head spun as she saw the large distance between herself and the ground, making her feel sick and scared. _

_"Lass! Get me down-- Up-- Get me out of here!" Her voice came out more shrill than she would have liked, eyes unfocused as she looked down. It had been different when she had been stuck on the wall, where she had been given the option of closing her eyes. Suspended in air with only her ankle as a support was terrifying; she felt as though she had no option but to keep her eyes on the ground. By the time Lass had found a way to maneuver her properly onto the branch her misery at him for appearing suddenly while she was half way out a window, __**knowing **__she was an extremely accident prone person was overruled by her consuming fear and the need to hold onto something stable. As the tree branch made a sudden quake below her she grasped his shirt tightly, bawling onto his shoulder. _

_"Lasssss! I was so scared! If you let go of me, I would have fell! And If I fell, I would have died! And if I died--" _

_"Arme--"_

_"And-- And--- Wahh!" She gave up on forming a legitimate sentence at that point, clutching him tightly and burying her head further onto his shoulder. She felt herself being released and held on tighter, her eyes squinting._

_"D-don't let go!" There was a sigh from the silver haired boy, and Arme felt a hand on her back._

_"Arme... You're back in your room already." Her eyes flew open, taking in the pale purple walls from her view over Lass' shoulder. Her face tinting an even brighter red, she shuffled back further on the bed where Lass had set her. He stared at her for a second before leaning back. _

_"So, what's on that paper that was so important that you'd crawl out a window to retrieve it?" He questioned. She could feel her face burning as she clutched the piece of paper closer to her chest._

_"N-nothing!" She watched as his eye brows rose, a smirk coming onto his face. _

_"If you say so." With that he leapt back out the way he had come, Arme waiting until he had left to straighten out the picture. Her heart stopped for a second as she looked down at the paper, resuming it's obnoxiously hyper beating moments later. She had been holding it the wrong way, the blank side crushed up against her. Lass had had a full view of the image. _

* * *

"Arme? If you want, I can write for you! I'm sure it's alot easier for me to write in Bermesian--"

"No! N-no thanks!" Arme exclaimed quickly, hands clenching onto the paper as she looked at the pink haired girl. Amy blinked and sat back.

"Well, we kinda need to do a bandage change right now anyway. After that, I need to go out to get some water for washing the wrap~ Someone called me and told me you woke up before I could get it." The magician nodded, placing the survey aside face-down to allow the muse to the bandaging. To her dismay, her top seemed to be slightly tinted pink. With a sigh she pulled off the clasps holding the wrap in place and began to unwind it. The wrap only took a moment to undo, and when Arme had gotten the entire bandage off she felt queasy. The teeth marks in her side were still rather deep, the flesh uneven around the edges. It was odd to look at; she felt like she was seeing something akin to a piece of food, the curve of the Gorgos' mouth imprinted. Arme almost instinctually went to place her hand on it, but the dancer grabbed it before she could.

"Don't heal!" She said hastily. Arme watched her questioningly for a moment.

"Why... Not?" The purple haired girl asked.

"We've heard some terrible things that have happened to magicians who try to heal themselves. It could be because of their energy levels being too low to heal, but... Didn't Elena explain it to you?" Arme shook her head.

"Well... You know how healing works, right?" At this, the magician nodded.

"Your own energy is mixed with mana and introduced into the system of something else. With the extra force driving it, the person's wound heals faster than usual. That's why it still takes time to heal, and is generally called increased regeneration."

"Right~ Now think about it. That energy and mana is already yours, right? That's why even if you don't get any nasty side-effects, it won't work. Of course, there are a few exceptions to that. Heals like mine and Ronan's take from the energy and mana in the air and earth, which allows them to work on the cast as well. They're difficult to use, though. They also don't work as well as a regular heal~" She explained as she reached down to press her hand on the wound. A pink light surrounded her hand, Arme wincing as her side began to sting. When Amy removed her hand the stinging stopped, the teeth dents looking considerably better. Amy grinned.

"It works better when you're awake~!" Arme nodded, watching as another gauze was wrapped around her stomache. When it was firmly in place Amy stood up and stretched.

"I'm gonna go for now~! Good luck with the survey!" She gave a slight wave as she walked out of the room, leaving Arme alone with the dreaded questionnaire. Picking it up again, she glared at the question for a moment before summarizing her predicament under 'Fell out a window'. She moved onto the next question and sighed as she looked at it.

"Is this really necessary? 'Longest time elapsed cooking a single meal'?" After biting her lip and thinking about it, '5 hours' was written next to the question and she moved on. Other such nonsensical questions were there, and by the time Amy returned Arme had answered everything from the generic 'If you were stuck on an island with one other person, who would it be?' to the slightly less generic 'What would you be the most scared to find under your bed in the middle of the night?'. She had just finished penciling in 'Lass' (because she honestly couldn't think of anything that would surprise her more than finding the assassin under the bed) when Amy returned, swiping the survey from her before Arme could realize what had happened.

"Amy!" The muse ignored the purple haired girl, batting away the hand that tried to grab the paper back.

"I've read every one elses, don't sweat it~" She commented as her eyes grazed the sheet, "You fell out a window!?" Arme nodded self-conciously.

"A-are you okay?! That must have hurt!" Her head down and a blush coming back to her cheeks, Arme continued.

"Lass caught me before I hit the ground."

"Ah~" Amy nodded knowingly as she continued reading, her eyes back to the sheet and a grin on her face.

"Yours is way more interesting then Lass' was~" She said as she neared the end of the sheet.

"Hm? What was on his?" Arme asked, curiosity setting in. Amy's smile got wider.

"Well, mostly he left them blank or wrote N/A. The only things he filled in were..." She thought for a second, "Favourite dessert food, Name, class, weapon, and motivation for joining." Arme's curiosity raised as she leaned forward to look Amy in the eyes.

"What was his motivation? And why wasn't his birthday filled in?" There was a silence from the dancer for a second.

"Arme... I'm not sure Lass wants you to know why he joined just yet. And he didn't know his birthday~ We made one up for him, though~ November the 11th!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands together. Arme thought for a second.

"Which means... It's around... The end of January right now?" Amy shook her head.

"Nope! It's closer to..." She blinked, followed by a sigh, "It's near the beginning of April." Catching the worried look on the muse's face, Arme stared for a second.

"Do you dislike April?" At this Amy looked up with a small smile.

"Ah, it's not that. It's... Nothing, probably." She stood up again, ignoring the questioning glance of the magician.

"But--"

"Lass may have been harsh when he mentioned it, but he was right in that you need rest right now. The messenger bird should still be in the barn, I'll give the survey to him while you get to sleep. Until I say so you're on bed rest, so don't get up!" She walked out of the room before Arme could ask anything else or repeat her question, leaving the magician staring at the door. She would have stood up to follow the pink haired girl if Lass' earlier words hadn't come back to her at that moment. _You'll just be a burden. _Thinking about it made her feel pathetic and she curled up tightly on the bed to stare at the wall, waiting impatiently for sleep to take her.

* * *

She awoke the next morning to the sound of hammering, her eyes squinting as she sat up. Amy was asleep in the chair next to her, one of the gauze wraps resting on her lap. The door was still left open a crack, allowing Arme a slight view of the next room. No one was out there, but the sunlight shone brightly in. Her hand rested experimentally on her abdomen for a moment before she cautiously scooted to the end of the bed, placing her feet on the floor silently. Her wound felt much better than the previous day, hardly hurting as she snuck out of the room quietly to avoid waking the muse. She needed minimal support from the door frame as she got a better view of the area. Outside the window were several groups of people with wooden beams, carrying them out of Arme's view. Her stomache gave a large rumble at that point, reminding her that she hadn't eaten at all the previous day. With a sigh she turned to where she had noted the kitchen the previous day... Only to see Lass sitting at the table, staring back at her as a bowl of something-or-other sat neglectedly on the surface infront of him. _Well, damn. _She gave a slow wave as she moved cautiously back to the door of the bed room, her eyes staying on him. He stared evenly back, and for a moment Arme was wondering if he even really knew it was her. Her stomache gave another uncomfortable growl, and she sighed as she pulled open the door. A light sound distracted her and she turned back to the kitchen, where the assassin was no longer sitting. He was standing nearly infront of her, his hand enclosing around her wrist and walking her to the table.

"Sit." The silver haired boy demanded. Arme followed the command, not quite sure of what was going on. From what she had experienced, Lass was still mad at her. The thought made Arme wince, leaning forward on the table to rest her head on her hands as she turned to the counter to watch Lass. He was standing at the fridge, peering in for a moment before closing the door and walking over to the cupboard. When he had pulled something out of it he reached down into one of the lower cupboards, pulling out a pot. Arme watched interestedly as he filled the pot with water, placing it on the stove once it was about half full. Neither said a word as the water came to a boil, Arme still trying to figure out exactly what Lass was making. Her eyes shut gingerly, and before she realized what had happened there was a clinking sound, alerting her that something had been placed on the table next to her. She looked up to find a bowl of ramen sitting on the table before her, Lass having resumed his previous seat.

"Thank you..." She mumbled as she sat up in her chair and rubbed her eyes. The silver haired boy didn't reply, simply watching as the purple haired girl reached for the fork lying next to her bowl. She ate quietly, glancing over to where Lass sat. He was watching her intensely, his hands crossed over his chest. The scrutiny made Arme feel slightly uncomfortable, but when she began eating and realized exactly how hungry she was she was able to block out his stare.

"You're going to get hiccups if you eat too quickly." He informed her when there was no sign of the magician slowing down. She looked up, surprised to even hear him speak at that point. The assassin was no longer looking at her, his attention drawn disinterestedly to the wall. Even though it was mentioned offhandedly, Arme felt guilt well up in her at his concern. Her eyes downcast, she remembered yelling at him the previous day. _Even though he was just saving me from death... _She opened her mouth with full intent to speak, apologize, anything, but when she looked up at him her words died in her throat and her eyes fell down to the table again. _Where to even begin...? _She began to stir her food around, watching the noodles spiral. Her mouth opened again, but before she could make a comment a hiccup bubbled up and out of her throat. Her eyes widening, the purple haired girl blushed embarrasedly. She glanced up to where Lass was, a small smile brought to her face when she realized he was chuckling. She continued eating her ramen, paying attention as he sighed.

"You need to... Be more careful." He murmured quietly, yet again causing Arme to feel guilty. Her eyes shutting, she spoke before she could have a chance to back down.

"L-Lass... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done what I did... I just made you worry unnecessarily." She finally looked at him, noticing immediately that he had removed his glance from the wall to look back at her.

"How would you feel now if you hadn't tried, though?" She bit her lip for a second, thinking it over.

"Pretty depressed," She finally admitted, "But still... I made you worry...." She repeated quietly. The silver haired male stood up and shrugged, putting his own bowl on the counter.

"It's nothing unusual, Arme. You're like some kind of walking danger zone. I'm surprised you weren't dead before I met you, seeing how many life-or-death situations you've been in the last month." Arme frowned indignantly at him.

"Hey! I'm not that bad! Name **one **time in the last month I would have died if someone wasn't with me!" She demanded.

"The first time I met you, anmon soldiers surrounding us?" He supplied, blinking at her slowly. Arme thought over it for a second.

"That was once!"

"You were almost raped by that guy the first time we entered the town, You nearly fell onto the grinder when you came with me to the weapons shop to get my simitar sharpened, you fell asleep at the table after leaving a large pot of oil on the stove, you fell out a second story window featuring a stone path below, You nearly fell into a pool of lava, and you were almost eaten by a gorgos. Those are the ones I can think of at the moment, but I'm certain there were more than that." He listed. Arme blushed, finishing off her soup.

"You have no proof that guy wanted to rape me." Was her comeback after two minutes of silence. The thief stared at her for a moment disbelievingly, waiting until he was certain she wasn't going to pull back the claim before speaking.

"I think I'm just going to let that one slide." He responded, taking her bowl once it appeared she was done with it. When it was placed on the counter he turned back to look at her, the mood in the room much lighter than it had been minutes prior. Lass sighed and looked at her again.

"I have to go back out and help, can I trust you to stay in bed?" He questioned. Arme nodded with a smile, another hiccup coming up.

"I did tell you." The silver haired boy reminded her, watching as the purple haired girl stood up, using the table as a prop. He watched concernedly as she managed to take a few shaky steps, taking a step toward her. Arme turned her head to glance at him, a smile still on her face.

"I'll be fine, Lass!" She grinned, her steps deciding to fail her at that exact moment. Her knees buckled below her as she looked back at his surprised expression, and she highly doubted she could convince him she could get back to her room on her own if she wanted to. She resignedly allowed herself to be picked up by him a moment later, looking at him with a sorry expression.

"Thanks." She said quietly, swaying lightly as the door to her room was pushed open. Amy still sat inside, her eyes closed. Lass sighed.

"Seriously, Arme. For some reason I doubt Amy's going to be watching you very attentively, so just stay in bed."

"I will!" She exclaimed, trying not to wake the dancer as she was laid back down carefully on the bed. Running a hand through his hair, the silver haired boy looked down at her.

"I'll be counting on it." With that, he turned and left the room silently as ever. Arme watched until he was gone, then rested her head back down on the pillow. She stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes, not feeling quite tired enough to fall asleep.

"Aww! Lassie's so nice to you~!" Arme nearly had a heart attack as she heard a voice, sitting up immediately. It was apparently too fast for her injury, and she could feel the strain on the newly healed skin. Her head turned to see Amy leaning forward to look at her, large pink eyes staring inquisitively at her.

"A-Amy!" She gasped quietly. Amy nodded, a smile on her face. Her brows furrowed as she looked at Arme's stomache, and Arme soon followed her gaze down. She groaned when she noticed the deep red seeping into the gauze, and looked at the pink haired girl appologetically.

"You opened it up again!" The girl stated, looking at her worriedly, "Lie back, I need to change the bandages~" Arme complied quietly, her eyes closing. They only opened when Arme could feel the pressure of the bandages gone, and she looked down to assess the damage. Three of the teeth marks were bleeding parfusely, the others a rather red tinge. Amy gave a relieved sigh.

"Okay, it's not so bad. Does it hurt?" She questioned, her hand hovering over the burn again. Arme shook her head; the area where the bite was had gone completely numb.

"That's good... Hopefully it hasn't hurt the regeneration below the surface too badly." Arme looked at her questioningly.

"Below the surface?" Amy nodded.

"I said the gorgos didn't hit anything vital and that was true, but... It was eerily close. You were still bit pretty deeply, and his teeth were pressing up against some of your organs. If we hadn't done some healing near your stomache there was a good chance it would have ripped, and that... Well, it wouldn't have gone very well. I'm not trying to worry you or anything, but for about a week or so try to refrain from hasty movements. Since you travel with Lass I figured it wouldn't be too much of a problem for us to leave when your outer wounds were gone, but if you don't think you can do it just tell me! I'm sure everyone would understand, and I'm certain Lass will be pretty upset if something bad happened~!" She grinned at the last part, lifting her hand away to look satisfiedly at her handiwork. The three open wounds were nearly healed over, and the others seemed to have lost their overly red qualities. Arme blushed again, sighing as Amy wrapped the gauze back around her.

"I'm sure Lass would be upset if anyone else had something bad happen to them as well!" She reminded the dancer. Amy nodded in agreeance, clasping the gauze tightly.

"He would; we all would. Still, I can't help thinking that if anyone else was sick he probably wouldn't make them food~" She smiled as she finished with the wrap and leaned back in her chair, Arme too tired to protest.

* * *

A/N: Short chapter! Lots of dialogue! Nothing happened! I'm thinking... **Filler**! I wonder what Amy is hinting at? Perhaps we'll find out in the next chapter! (and perhaps not xD) Please review! They make me uber-happy!

-Utsuro

P.S. I doubt half of those things would have killed Arme, but they sure sound painful enough O.o


	13. Journey Resumed

A/N: Yeah... I doubt this is gonna be up for Sunday... o_o

Disclaimer: Don't own Grand Chase! Dx

Chapter 12: Journey Resumed

* * *

Arme looked surprisedly at the village as she stared at it from her point in the doorway of the small home. She had stayed quietly in her room the previous day, allowing herself to get rest and impatient for the departure that was to happen the next day. Amy had deemed her condition well enough to be moving around that day, and they planned to be leaving within the next hour. The village was much farther in it's reconstruction than she would have guessed, nearly all the remains of the burned buildings gone and replaced by fresh, new wood. It must help, she supposed, to have someone like Ryan on the reconstruction team, who could grow plants at will. After her first glance over the village, she realized with dismay that in the distance was an entirely burned section of the town that no one was attending to. A frown settled onto her face as she noticed it was the closest to the Gorgos' den. That meant that most of the people in that section of the town hadn't survived... She sighed, the memory of the small girl coming back to mind. She had come into the house the previous day to have her wounds checked on by Amy, and had received a shock upon noticing the purple haired mage.

* * *

_"A-Amy...? Hinahime stood in the doorway, her long red hair up in a half pony-tail, the rest of it lying down her back. She wore a dress much neater than she had the day she was saved by Amy, and seemed overall more healthy than she had been than. She gasped as she saw Arme sitting up in the bed, her previous sentence addressed to the dancer completely ending._

_"O-oh! Are you all right?!" The red haired girl had asked, ignoring the muse entirely in favour of running to the bed and kneeling next to it. She soon sufficed for sitting on the side; she could hardly see over the edge when she kneeled next to her. Arme watched her worriedly, looking down at her hands when she found herself unable to look into the silver eyes of the girl. _

_"I... " She couldn't continue her sentence, her throat clenching up as she remembered the red haired boy struggling through his last few breaths. She felt a small pair of hands lying on her own, and dared a glance back up. The girl was looking at her with a small, sad smile._

_"It's alright. It was... Unfair of me to ask you to do that..." She gave a sigh before continuing quietly, "My brother was one of the first taken... He was gone over ten minutes before you showed up. I knew there wasn't much hope for him, but still...I guess I just wanted to feel like I didn't fail my parents entirely. After all, I was too afraid to go after him myself and save him." Her body gave a shiver, and she rested her forehead against the bed sheet. Arme watched uncertainly, looking down at the red locks splayed across the bed. _

_"No, you were just doing the best you could. I was scared too when I went in there, and I had the best protection anyone could. By not going down there you saved yourself, and I'm sure wherever your parents are extremely grateful for that." Hinahime looked up again._

_"You did the best you could, too." She repeated, "So it's alright. At least you survived... I was so scared when I saw you come out of the den... I thought you were already dead. Elesis-sama brought out my brother's body, and we buried him." Arme attempted a smile. _

_"I-I'm sorry I missed it." The red head waved it off. _

_"We still weren't certain you would make it at that time, so..." A frown was on her face as she pressed the tips of her fingers together, "The white haired man said it would be my fault if you didn't make it." She stated, looking troubled. For a moment Arme just stared, her eyes wide._

_"L-Lass said..." At this point Amy saw the need to cut in, seeing the distraught look on the magician's face._

_"Arme, some times Lass says... Some things he regrets later when he's in a bad mood. He was really upset, so I'm surprise that was all he said. I think he was trying to avoid us, though." She sighed, ruffling Arme's hair. _

_"Don't let it bother you too much." The purple haired girl nodded, looking at the faces of both of the other girls in the room. The little girl nodded in confirmation with Amy's statement. _

_"He was really mad... He said you nearly killed yourself in the cave trying to heal my brother." She held Arme's hand tighter, "Thank you... It may be selfish to say so, seeing how hurt you were, but I felt happy. Even if he wasn't conscious, he must have known someone was trying their hardest to save him." Arme nodded, even though she doubted the statement greatly._

_"Well... I have to go back to the care center they have set up soon. Can you please check my injuries before I go, Amy-Sama?" She questioned._

_"Yeah." Amy whispered, her eyes downcast as she looked over the two crestfallen girls. _

* * *

Even though the majority of their discussion had been geared towards making Arme feel better, it just made her feel more guilty for all of the trouble she had put the others through. As the girl's wounds had been dressed they had ended up discussing everything that had happened from the point where Arme had gone unconscious to the point where she had woken up. Ronan and Amy had nearly drained themselves of energy healing her for hours on end, Ryan exhausted from searching through the forest to find all the herbs Amy requested. Elesis was in charge of sorting all of the people out and helping those who still had relatives find them. Jin had soon had to take over for her, the sword user mentally exhausted after seeing the faces of more than one too many orphaned children. Lass had flat out refused to do anything that involved being more than five feet from the injured female. He left the others to cope without his help as he sat silently, watching the two healers and their patient intensely.

"Arme? Ready to go?" The purple haired girl was snapped out of her trance by Elesis, the fiery haired girl waving a hand in front of her face.

"O-Oh! Yeah!" Arme rubbed her eyes for a second, looking around at all the assembled chasers. The surviving village people were also crowding around them, looking on with concern.

"You're leaving so soon?" One asked. Elesis nodded in confirmation.

"If the gorgos were this riled up, we need to keep going. We're not sure what's going on in the other villages right now." She explained calmly. Arme gave an involuntary gasp as she heard Elesis say this. Even through all that had gone on, Arme had never considered that the same thing was possibly happening in other towns. A worried frown set on her face as she was picked up by the assassin, who had seemed to have approached her while she was thinking. He spared a glance at her, his eyebrows furrowed as he let out a sigh.

"Arme..."

"Yeah?" He sighed again before continuing hesitantly.

"I might as well let you know this now, so... We're going to have to go through the cave again to get to the gorge of oath." He explained quietly. Arme felt her stomach drop, words stopping in her throat as she though over her previous expedition in the cave. She bit her lip hard to keep away the protests she was dying to let out, allowing the reality of the situation to seep into her. They needed to go through again, so she would just have to grit her teeth and bear it. With a few more formalities out of the way, the group began their path towards the cave entrance. Lass hung at the back of the group, some how managing to watch Arme over his shoulder and the path ahead at the same time. She forced a smile onto her face that she was sure he didn't buy to calm some of his worries, her eyes wide open and searching for the cave entrance. Eventually she found it, and her heart skipped a beat at the large dark tunnel. The group entered it without hesitation, mainly seeing as Arme was being carried and therefore unable to stop at the entrance. They began down and into the cave. The warmth seeped into her, quickly making her warmer than comfortable. The glow of the magma pits was still waiting for them as they made it to the first room, the layout of the room untouched from the first time Arme had come in. She felt her stomach churn as she looked around the place, her eyes falling on a body in the center of the room. The body of the man hadn't been moved, it lay sprawled out messily in the middle of the room.

"Don't look..." She abided to Lass demand without much thought, burying her head into his shoulder. She could feel her body swaying softly in tune with each of the thief's silent steps, the only thing keeping her awake the uncomfortable warmth surrounding her. The only thing she really noticed was the jumps, from Elesis' '_Be careful!_' And Lass' slight change of step. It was all fine enough until they entered the next room, Arme pushing away from Lass quickly as she felt nausea hit her, the smell of rotting flesh falling on her in a wave. She was set down just soon enough to see the pile of bodies that remained in the corner, setting even more of an edge to her stomach. She fell to her knees, coughing loudly as her head spun.

"A-Arme!" She could hear Amy's voice, though she voided it out quickly as her body chose that exact moment to empty itself of it's breakfast. A hand rubbed her back as she sat up dizzily, trying to take in the people around her. Amy was the one who was rubbing her back without thought, her attention directed to her bag, where she was rummaging around in it and searching for something unsuccessfully. The rest of the chase was looking at her with mild concern, though Jin seemed rather close to her condition himself. Arme gave a half-hearted smile, her stomach still on edge from the smell of the rot. Finally the dancer managed to produce a toothbrush and toothpaste along with a bottle of water from her bag. She handed the items to Arme, who stared at her half-deliriously in return.

"Come on, you can brush your teeth over there~" She explained as she tugged Arme into a standing position, leading the magician over to a quieter wall of the dungeon. Not quite in the mood to make an argument, Arme quickly cleaned her teeth with the supplies. She couldn't deny that she felt several times better when her mouth was cleaned, her head ceasing it's spinning as she finished up. The rest of the group had spread around the dungeon, getting a better look of it while the two girls were busy. After putting the cleansing tools back in their assigned spots in Amy's seemingly endless bag, the group re-assembled near the center of the room. Arme finally noticed the large Gorgos lying against the wall, it's body twisted at an akward angle and it's mouth gaping open, blood stained teeth shining dully (stained with **her **blood, Arme thought grimly). It was crashed next to the exit of the room, and Arme was almost surprised the exit hadn't collapsed with the force. She hadn't noticed she was taking steps toward the large dragon-like creature until Lass pulled her back by the wrist, not saying a word as he lifted her onto his back effortlessly. They were almost out a small hole in the wall Arme hadn't noticed when a shrill cry filled the room, causing all of the inhabitants to turn around. Peeking around the large gorgos, it appeared, was a baby gon. It looked at them seriously as the leader pulled her spear out of it's sheath. She approached the gon cautiously, stopping only when Ronan put an arm out in front of her.

"Ronan...?" Elesis blinked, staring at the blue haired male. His eyes were locked on the little beast that was slowly coming out from behind the large monster, floating along supported by little wings that seemed too small for it's body.

"Call me crazy, but I don't think it's a threat." He replied. She looked back at it and put away her spear in silent concurrence. There was no way the small thing could hurt them, and even the most inexperienced in hand-to-hand combat in their team could would most likely have been able to destroy it without a weapon. It continued approaching at a steady pace for several seconds before it arrived nearly in front of them, seeming to stare back at the Dragon Knight. It let out a shrill cry as it latched to the front of his outfit, clawing its way to Ronan's shoulder while the rest of the chase watched amusedly.

"I think it likes you, Ronan." Ryan stated, eyebrows raised as the thing began letting out a sound that could have been mistaken for some sort of purr while it nuzzled into his hair. Ronan shrugged, reaching up to pat it on the head. He turned to look at Elesis, who seemed equally at a loss for what to do.

"Do we bring it with us...?" He asked slowly.

"Err... " The red head blinked, reaching for the monster slowly. When it noticed the approaching hand the gon let out something that sounded like a hiss, and Ronan winced.

"I think at this point we're going to have a pretty hard time dislodging it from my shoulder without taking the whole arm and possibly a significant chunk of my hair." He explained looking back at her. Elesis gave another shrug.

"Well if you don't mind, sure. Just try to make sure it doesn't bite anyone." She said. The spell knight nodded.

"I don't think I'll have a problem with that. It seems pretty content gnawing on my hair." He replied idly, the rest of the chase looking on with concern. The rather odd discussion ended there, the gon keeping its position locked on Ronan's shoulder and it's head buried in his blue hair. Arme watched drowsily, the heat getting to her again. The smell had faded in her nose, a burning that she had become accustomed to. Her head fell heavily on Lass' shoulder again as they continued out through the exit. Charred trees met their view, the path burned in various places. Further inspection lead to the discovery that the burns were cold; made a fair amount of time previously. Arme shivered at the cool air that hit her as the group picked up speed, the forest becoming more dense as they continued, then becoming sparse nearly immediately. The dirt under their feet was changing, and before Arme was certain where they were they were standing on a large plane of pale stone. Instead of a convenient path, the layers of stone were medium-sized and spaced largely apart, serving as a gigantic jump zone. To her surprise, Elesis seemed delighted with the place.

"I haven't been here in ages!" She exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air. Ronan nodded, looking over at her.

"Yeah, It's been... Two years? He smiled, taking the lead next to her as the group began the jump across the cavern, "You're certainly not as easily startled now as you were back then, huh?" Elesis began blushing, looking away from him.

"It's not my fault you showed out of no where and nearly made me fall into the gorge!" Ronan grimaced.

"That would have been slightly unfortunate." Elesis rolled her eyes.

"Obviously!" She scoffed. Ronan chuckled at her pout, then went silent for a moment.

"It really was a long time ago, wasn't it? I wasn't a part of the Grand Chase, and you nearly hated me." He remembered. Arme blinked in interest.

"Elesis used to hate you?" She asked uncertainly, unable to imagine the two knights going any further than their frequent quarrels. Ronan nodded in confirmation, and Elesis sighed exhasperatedly.

"I didn't **hate **you! Just... Harbored strong opposition toward you!" She called loudly. Ronan nodded, "Just what I said. She hated me." To Arme's surprise, Ryan also gave a quiet laugh at that.

"Yeah, Elesis. I'd have to classify that under hate. After all, you still weren't over it when I met you." Elesis shrugged, and it was obvious at that point that all of the chasers who didn't know the story were interested, even Lass, who turned his head slightly in their direction to watch the pair of knights.

"Oohh~! This I need to know!" Amy exclaimed, clapping her hands together. Elesis sighed resignedly, and Ronan cleared his throat. It was clear that when Amy was interested in something she would find out about it one way or another, and it was best that they told her before she decided to go to an alternate source.

"Start at the beginning!" The muse demanded, looking at Ronan. He thought for a second before starting to speak.

"Hmm... Well, the start was probably when we met, right?" He asked, looking over at Elesis. She nodded.

"Mr. Genius over here showed up out of no where, and I nearly tripped off the edge of the platform I was on!" She said, glaring at Ronan. The knight chuckled.

"It's pretty difficult to not be surprising when you show up in the gorge, Elesis. And you didn't nearly fall off the platform, you did." He grinned, "I had to reach over the edge and grab you before you fell." Elesis scoffed.

"What you didn't have to do was treat me like a helpless female after! _Are you alright, miss? You shouldn't be walking around the Gorge alone, it's dangerous~_" She complained, making a surprisingly accurate copy of Ronan's voice and holding her hands together in an exaggerated immitation of a girl in distress.

"Hey, I figured, you were helpless!" He defended with a smile.

"And of course, she had to recommend you for the chase." Elesis sighed as she let out the word _she_, and Arme knew she was referring to Lire.

"And... That was the first time you met the counsel." He said with a sigh.

"They nearly made me revoke my position to have you on the team!" She exclaimed loudly, causing a laugh from Ronan.

"It could be because you crashed the wall of the counsel's meeting area entirely down with your sword. That wasn't exactly the best first impression." He reminded her.

"Come on! I didn't think it was **that** bad!" She said, looking around and remembering their audience.

"O-Oh yeah! Why I disliked him!" Elesis remembered, "Well... It always used to bug me that he was the kind of person that would stop to help kittens out of trees and whatnot. Always so polite!" She scoffed.

"One of us has to be." Ronan said, causing another blush from Elesis.

"And always opening the doors and pulling out chairs and helping me when I didn't need help and making me take potions over the most minor of injuries and doing little nice things like that!" She continued, rolling her eyes.

"And that made you dislike him~?!" Amy asked, her eyes wide. Elesis nodded, Ronan shrugging.

"Only Elesis." Jin laughed at that, looking over at the blue haired man.

"You would meet the one girl in the world who doesn't melt into a puddle immediately when they meet you." The spell knight grinned.

"Well--" Ronan's speech was cut off as a small rock came from the right, pelting Jin directly in the forehead. He stumbled backwards and into Amy, who had been running behind him at that point. Everyone spun around to look at the red head, but that wasn't the only stone that was thrown. Within a minute there was a rain of small rough stones falling on the group. Arme turned hastily to look around, and was one of the first to notice they were surrounded by small Gons not unlike the one on Ronan's shoulder. The group spread out quickly minus Amy, who was still trying to revive the unconcious fighter. Arme took her staff out of her bag, waiting expectantly for Lass to set her down as the group was surrounded by more strange monsters. The silver haired boy did no such thing, instead tightening his grip on her with one hand to hold his scimitar in the right. He took a stance a fair distance away, where Arme settled for poking him in the cheek.

"Lass? I think you're forgetting something! You haven't put me down yet!" She reminded him.

"Obviously. What do you think the chance of you not falling off the edge if I set you down is?" He asked, and Arme looked at the ground. In between avoiding monsters and teleporting on uneven ground, Arme had to admit there wasn't a very high chance she would be able to maintain her balance.

"Still! There's no way you can fight like this!" The magician continued. The assassin glanced at her.

"Oh really? Watch me." Arme found her grip on the back of his shirt tightening as he spun quickly to slice through an approaching monster, still managing to kill it with one hit even with the added burden of holding her on his back. Soon enough the pair were back in the fight with the rest of the members, helping with the elimination of the group of monsters. The small gon that was accompanying Ronan seemed to have taken to throwing stones back at the enemies, causing a surprising amount of damage. Amy was hanging back to make sure Jin was fine, as he had managed to regain consciousness. The fighter seemed a bit dizzy, but overall able to fight the thinning out monsters. It was Elesis and Ronan who were doing the most damage, both sporting large grins on their faces. Arme was soon unable to observe the others, having difficulty even focusing on the enemies. It was difficult enough to hold on to Lass, and any ideas she had previously had towards conjuring some spells to help were quickly vanquished. By the time Lass had stopped twisting and turning to get through the enemies Arme's head was spinning, and her head fell against Lass' shoulder with a thud.

"Never... Again..." She breathed out heavily, earning a chuckle from Lass.

"I'll try to keep your short tolerance for speed in mind next time." He smirked. The two walked over to where the main group was, Arme unable to find a comeback.

"Judging by the looks of things, I'd be willing to guess that they've elected a new leader of the Drillmon..." Elesis said loudly, looking over the gorge. She then turned to the group.

"It would be faster to just pass by at this point, but I'm thinking we should go get rid of it before it gets too strong! Everyone with me?" There was a chorus of nods from the group, and Elesis grabbed Ronan's arm.

"Onward, then! Lead the way, pretty boy!" She demanded. Ronan sighed and smiled, assuming the lead as the group altered their course so that they were headed west of their previous direction. Arme's head recovered from it's recent stir around that point, clearing out and giving her a better idea of what was going on around her. She leaned forward so she could see Lass without his hair obscuring her view, and he turned to look at her inquisitively.

"Lasssssss... If I promise not to fall into the gorge can I fight next time?" She pleaded, feeling somewhat foolish. Lass rolled his eyes.

"Hate to remind you, but you're a hazard to yourself. I'm gonna have to say no. Not that it really matters here."

"Hm?"

"If I'm thinking correctly, I'd bet Elesis and Ronan have this battle covered. Reminiscing, I guess." Arme blinked and looked up to the front of the group to where the two mentioned knights were. Elesis seemed to be in much higher spirits than usual, and both she and Ronan were playfully bantering. The gon that had taken to Ronan minutes earlier was floating along beside them, lighting down on the spell knight's shoulder ever so often. Amy and Jin were a few feet behind the pair, Amy still seeming to be fussing over the red haired boy's forehead. She felt a pang of sympathy as she looked to her other side and saw Ryan, seeming far enough away from the group to be mistaken as an outsider to their group if the one doing the assessing didn't know better. He seemed rather distracted, perhaps caught in memories of his own from the place. The thought sparked a memory of Arme's own, and she sat quietly for a moment before voicing her question.

"Lass?"

"Mmhm? And if it's about putting you down, I don't want to hear it." She bit her lip, thinking before she hesitantly continued.

"Why did you join the Grand Chase?" From her position holding tightly onto the back of his shirt she could feel the thief's entire body tense up, and she knew instantly she had said something she shouldn't have.

"Ahh-- I... You don't have to answer that." She finished carefully, watching what she could see of his face. From the angle he had turned her head she was unable to see his clear blue eyes, and the thought worried her. She felt somewhat embarrassed, and settled for resting her forehead on his shoulder so she wouldn't have to deal with seeing him. The silver haired assassin let out a sigh.

"Maybe another time. It's a... Long story." He said quietly.

"N-- That's all right! I'm sorry I asked, that's your business." Arme whispered, a loud cry causing her to look up before she could continue. They seemed to have arrived at a fairly large, sturdy platform where a gigantic version of the previous monsters was, a metal-like tip on the lower half providing as some form of stinger. There were roughly three of the smaller monsters surrounding the giant one, spaced out evenly.

"Let's go!" Elesis was predictably the first one to charge in, her grip on Ronan's arm still in-tact and therefore dragging him along with her. Arme was almost surprised to see the others hanging a fair bit back from the battle until she remembered Lass' previous reminder. The knights had easily wiped out the smaller monsters, and Arme watched as the two exchanged glances while they fought. Even though it wasn't her first time seeing the two fight together, it still amazed her at how fluently the two were able to maneuver around the other to get their weapons where they needed to be. Even when Elesis swung her spear within an inch of the Royal Guard knight's neck he didn't seem fazed, and Arme realized quickly that it was to get to the goron behind him. The small gon did all it could to help, throwing seemingly useless bits of rock at the large Drillmon until it ran out and decided it had done enough work. It still hovered protectively around the spell knight, though it made no attempt to fight. The large Drillmon didn't seem to take much more effort than the smaller ones, and with a carefully placed swing from the glave and the spear it was into three neat pieces. The redhead stretched lazily as the rest of the chasers approached, turning to them with a grin.

"So, decided to leave all the work to me and Ronan? Well, it was easy enough."

"If it was that easy, you could have not nearly lopped off my head!" The spell knight protested loudly, though the matching grin on his face was an indication to his actual lack of annoyance.

"Kree!" The gon let out a small shriek, as though annoyed at being forgotten in the victory count. It landed back on Ronan's shoulder, falling asleep yet somehow managing to keep its balance as the group turned back in the direction they had come. Elesis looked back at the monsters for a moment, contemplating what they should do.

"Hmm... Should we stay here for lunch, then?" She questioned when she turned back to the group. Ronan shook his head, and Lass nodded in agreement with the spell knight.

"We're pretty close to the Elven Forest already, aren't we?" The assassin asked.

"Yeah. It should take a few hours to make it there, though. Everyone wants to just wait until we get there?"

"Sounds good. So we'll stop at the edge of the forest and eat, then continue into the elven village?" Jin asked, receiving a nod from the rest of the group.

"All right then! Let's get going!" Elesis called, taking up her point at the lead of the team. They began making their way across the gorge, Arme thinking to pull out her book but aware that she would more than likely drop it into one of the large gaps between the platforms. She stared ahead quietly until she heard footsteps coming up next to Lass and herself. She turned her head to see the muse waving wildly at her, Jin's hand clenched tightly in her other hand dragging him beside her. The red headed fighter didn't seem to be complaining, a smile on his face and one of the handy-dandy band-aids Amy carried around that Arme had become well acquainted with in the last month placed on his forehead.

"Arme!" She called excitedly, "We get to stop by the forest! It's so pretty!" She exclaimed happily. Arme turned back to look forward, but was unable to see a flash of green anywhere.

"I... don't see it." She said, leaning forward. Amy laughed.

"Well of course not! We're still a few hours away and--- Oof!" Amy stopped mid-sentence as she didn't notice the end of the platform, dropping quite suddenly from Arme's view. Fortunately Jin had noticed, and his hand was still clasped with hers. The redhead nearly tumbled off the platform as well, falling to his knees as he pulled the pink haired girl back onto the stone. Lass had stopped to watch somewhat amusedly as the Muse was heaved back up next to the fighter, who gave a large sigh.

"Well, that was surprising~!" Amy chirped, standing up to dust herself off.

"Amyyyy!" Jin groaned, leaning back on his hands and flipping over onto his feet, "You should really watch the path more!" The mentioned girl giggled, spinning around and winking.

"But that's no fun~! And I knew you were there, anyway!" She stuck out her tongue childishly before taking a leap ahead, laughing loudly.

"Come on!" She called back. The blushing red head sighed before complying with her request, managing to catch up with the energetic female. Lass shook his head, letting out a sigh.

"I'll never know how he can keep up with all of her energy." He mentioned. Arme laughed lightly, a cough surfacing before she could stop it. Lass looked at her concernedly, but didn't ask any questions.

* * *

"Woah! Lass! Lass! Is that the Elven Forest?!" She gasped, looking forward at the large forest that was beginning to show over the stone horizon. Lass rolled his eyes.

"No, Arme. Whatever would make you think that was a forest?" He replied sarcastically. Arme blushed, taking her staff and hitting him lightly on the head.

"I didn't ask if it was a forest, meanie! I asked if it was the Elven Forest!"

"Oh, that's **much **different. But yes, it is." He answered. The magician huffed, waiting patiently for the group to reach the area with trees. It was still about five minutes before they even got out of the gorge, and by that time Arme was resting her head on Lass' shoulder boredly.

"How much longer?" She asked, recieving a sigh.

"A couple minutes."

"...Okay." At that point she decided to focus on the actual forest that they were actually approaching at a rather fast rate. Birds could be seen making large circles around the trees lazily, chirping filling the air and causing Arme to stare in anticipation. By the time the group had found a clearing in the forest decent enough to stop for a meal the short girl was nearly ready to Leap off Lass' back. As soon as he set her down she when off like a loose cannon, inspecting everything and anything there was to be seen. The rest of the group watched her with an interest as she spun around happily.

"It's so prett-- **DEER**!" Before anyone could say anything Arme had rocketed after the poor four-legged animal, giving a much more enthusiastic chase than any of the others would have imagined possible from the excercise-hating magician. They all watched stupifiedly as she disappeared after the brown animal.

* * *

"What were you thinking?!" The assassin was demanding minutes later as he dragged Arme back to the clearing by her wrist. Said girl had found out first-hand several different reasons for not hugging a deer, and Arme wasn't about to admit to the thief that opening her wounds was one of them. Her hand pressed on it discreetly as she shrugged, slightly embarrassed over her hyper behaviour. Lass sighed again.

"It's like you've never been in a forest before!" He continued. Arme looked at her feet, and after a second Lass turned to look at her.

"You... Have been in a forest before, right?" Arme smiled embarrasedly.

"To be honest... No." She finished finally, earning a look from Lass that said 'you've got to be kidding, right?'.

"Well, it's a good thing I got to you before you were eaten by that deer. Don't run off next time, and bring someone with you if you get the urge to do more exploring." She agreed to the terms easily, waving at the others as they reached the entrance of the clearing.

* * *

A/N: Ending is fail, but I needed to get this chapter done x_x Sorry for updating so late! I was away all weekend Dx I'll try to have some actually important stuff in the next chapter. Please review~! Comments, suggestions and all that are appreciated!  
-Utsuro


	14. Forest Memories

A/N: Lalalalala~ This chapter is deticated to Willow-chan! I'm gonna be so lonely when u go away Dx

Disclaimer: X_X do you really think I've obtained ownership of GC in the last week? Because I haven't. Dx

Chapter 13: Forest Memories

* * *

Elesis looked up at the pair as they re-entered the clearing, setting down the spear she had been cleaning to stand up next to them.

"So, what are we going to eat? And why is Arme covered in dirt? It looks like something was chasing her..." She trailed off slowly at their expressions, then turned to the rest of the group.

"Okay. We need to decide what we're eating, and who's going to hunt!" She declared, receiving a nod from the rest of the group. Ryan raised his hand.

"Deer?" Elesis pondered the question for a second, turning back to the mage.

"Hey, Arme. You alright with cooking... Deer...?" She asked, her voice growing quieter when she noticed the mage's paling face.

"Could we not?" She suggested meekly, the assassin resting a hand on her head.

"Rabbit, then?" He gave a light laugh as she began shaking her head furiously, the thought of boiling a rabbit worrying her. Glancing over to where the druid was sitting and watching boredly, Lass motioned for him to come over.

"Ryan, do you mind coming hunting?" He questioned. The elf shook his head, going back over to pick up the axe he had left on the ground. Lass began leading the way into the forest with scimitar in hand when Arme thought to say something.

"B-but wait! What are you bringing back?" She asked. Lass shrugged.

"You'll see when we return." Arme watched for a moment as the pair left the clearing, sitting down resignedly on a log next to the muse, who had just taken out her violin. She seemed distracted by the woods surrounding them, blinking when she noticed Arme sitting next to her.

"It's really nice here, isn't it~?" Amy smiled, her gaze lost as she began playing a gentle tune. The melody swirled around quietly, matching the serene surrounding the forest provided. The magician nodded.

"Many people have been lost here because of it's beauty. The paths swirl and wind, and despite it's appearance there are many dangers." Arme shivered, realizing how easily she could have gotten lost. She turned back to Amy then, the look on the girl's face familiar to that of reminisce.

"Amy... Have you ever gotten lost in the forest?" The dancer laughed.

"Yup~! The leader of the silver knights found me before I could starve, though." Arme stared at her for a second.

"You... Were lost in here? How long, and why?" Amy paused for a second.

"Perhaps... About two years ago, now. I was lost in here for one week. " Arme opened her mouth to speak, but it appeared the muse wasn't quite done.

"I was just wandering at that point... Easily distracted, I ran into the woods. No one was waiting for me at home, so no one even noticed I was gone. It was... If I hadn't been found by the Master and the other silver knights I probably would have starved. They let me stay with them for a while and taught me a bit, so I owe them a lot. " She smiled lightly, Arme just watching her for a moment. She would have commented, if Elesis hadn't come up to them at that moment.

"Amy... Do you know the date?" She asked worriedly. The pink haired girl's eyes lit up for a second as she reached into her bag. She bit her lip when she eventually pulled out a small black book, and the anxious looks on both of their faces had Arme frightened for a moment. Finally, after flipping through the book for a few seconds Amy stopped. Her hand lingered on the page for a second, and she looked up at Elesis.

"Well...?" Amy sighed.

"It's April the second. Elesis... Can we maybe... skip the Elven Forest?" The redheaded girl shook her head, and Arme decided it would be best not to interfere with their conversation.

"You know it's not possible to get to the castle without going through..."

"B-but we don't need to go through the Elven Village, do we?" Amy murmured, receiving another shake of the head from the knight. At this point Ronan came over to join them, Jin watching with interest from his spot at a nearby tree.

"They've been expecting us. The troll is apparently on the loose again, and we'd expected we would be here earlier than now." Arme looked down guiltily and pressed the tips of her fingers together, fully aware she was the reason they had been delayed for three extra days.

"Hey! Don't make her feel bad, Ronan!" Everyone looked over in surprise to where the redheaded fighter was, and Ronan's eyes widened. He turned to Arme hastily.

"Ah- Oh! I didn't mean anything like that, Arme! It wasn't your fault we didn't make it here before now. And beside that, are you really all that certain it's that bad?" He aimed the last question toward Elesis. She stared back at him for a moment, a large frown evident on her face.

"It's April **second**, Ronan. We all know what tomorrow is..." Arme raised her hand meekly at this statement, looking up at the group questioningly.

"What is tomorrow?" She finally asked. Glances were exchanged between all the members until eventually Ronan took a deep breath. He let it out slowly, shortly delaying the start of the information.

"Tomorrow is April the third... It's also Lire's birthday." He paused for a second, waiting for her to take in the words, "And for Ryan, there will be no worse place in all of Bermesiah to be. It's bad enough that he's in the forest of her home village, but at least if we were anywhere else there was a chance he'd miss it. Ryan doesn't keep track of the calender, but here... The Elven Village holds a rather large festival for her birthday every year, and I doubt they're going to stop even if they do know she's been gone for almost a year. We have to stop there no matter what, and there's no way he's going to miss the gigantic 'Happy Birthday' banisters." He finally finished, looking at the others. Elesis nodded sadly.

"This... It isn't going to go well. If we try to give him something obvious to do that would keep him out of the village he'd just get suspicious, so that's ruled out too." Arme's gaze lowered to the floor as she realized their situation, a sigh issuing from her mouth. The red haired knight bit her lip harshly.

"Damn it... This had to happen right when he was starting to recover..." Her spear was thrust into the ground frustratedly, and she wedged it back and forth in the dirt until there was a thin line in the ground. She repeated the action several times, glaring at nothing in particular. Worriedly the magician began wondering what she could do to make the situation better.

"Elesis...?"

"Mmhm?" The knight looked back at her from the corner of her eye.

"Might it help if... Perhaps you could send him and I to go find the troll? This is a pretty big forest, and it might take more than one day to find it... If you arrive at the village before that, you can request that everything be taken down the moment the festival is over. I could try to delay us returning before it's over." She suggested quietly. Elesis' mouth opened quickly for a retort, but it closed again just as suddenly. Her eyes widened as she sent a glance over to Ronan, who's gaze was directed at the ground where Elesis' spear was propped up.

"Do you think it might help?" She asked, and the indigo haired knight hesitated before giving a nod.

"If we can really keep him away from the festival... Even if he realizes what day it is, it'll go a lot better if he's not in the village when the festival goes on." He finally stated, looking back at the two girls. Elesis turned to look back at the magician.

"So, you're all right with this? The troll is no simple enemy..." Arme nodded.

"I can handle it!" The knight looked at her warily for a moment, and Arme was almost certain she was remembering the gorgos incident.

"Okay, then. Don't let anything bad happen, I personally don't fancy having my head cut off if Lass finds out I sent you on a mission that had you injured." Arme blushed, staring at the ground.

"He'd be fine with it! It's my own accident-proneness that does it, anyway." At this point Jin walked over to join the conversation.

"Actually, I'm pretty worried about how hard it's going to be to get him to agree to the plan, seeing how badly the last big fight crashed and burned even when he was right there." Elesis sent a glare at the other red head, watching Arme. The magician sighed miserably.

"Well, it did go pretty badly..." Jin nodded.

"No kidding." At this Amy stood up, whacking him over the head with her violin.

"Hey! Don't be a pessimist! I'm sure so long as Arme's ready for the battle it'll be fine." She sent a smile over to Arme that the magician was pretty sure was supposed to be reassuring before she turned to look at the forest behind her, where rustling leaves were heard. The entire group watched as Lass and Ryan re-entered the clearing, Jin rubbing his head sorely. Lass was holding a large bundle of meat cut into square chunks, the druid following with a basket of what appeared to be mushrooms. Arme was struck by a sudden image of Ryan wearing a pioneer-like dress with a hooded cloak as he collected mushrooms in the forest, and she bit her lip to stop herself from laughing at the idea. The two stared oddly at her as they placed the items down on a cloth that had been dredged from one of the bags (most likely Amy's), and Arme began looking at the meat curiously.

"What is it?" She asked after a moment of inspection. The assassin shrugged, looking at her neutrally.

"Does it matter?" Arme blinked incredulously.

"You don't know?" Lass rolled his eyes.

"Of course I do. I highly doubt there's anything in this forest you wouldn't feel guilty about cooking, so why don't we just leave it so you don't know what it is?" After a second Arme had to agree, knowing she wouldn't feel any better about cooking it if he told her it was a rabbit or anything of the likes. She observed the supplies for a second, taking a glance around the immediate forest. It had multiple resources, and without even walking around Arme was able to spot several spices. She clapped her hands with a grin.

"All right! Who can get the wood for a fire?" Jin raised his hand.

"I did that a couple minutes ago." She turned in surprise to realize there were several dry logs near the center of the clearing, providing a good area for her work.

"Okay, then! Let's get cooking!" The rest of the group had nothing much to do other than watch as the short girl began her cooking preparations, pulling various leaves and grasses nearby to add to her resources pile as she left the meat in a pot on top of the fire she had started. Amy offered to help find some ingredients, but in the end she had had difficulties telling poisonous plants from herbs, so she had resigned herself to washing and cutting the foods that were brought. Ryan was the only other one with the ability to help in that area, but he seemed to distracted for Arme to ask for help. She whisked around the clearing quickly from spot to spot as she managed to gather enough spices for her chosen meal.

"Amy, do you have a pan in that bag?" She questioned with a smile that often appeared on her face when she was cooking. Amy nodded.

"Naturally~" The musician rummaged around in the large bag for only a second before surfacing a large pan that she promptly handed to the little chef. Arme took it gratefully, moving the boiling pot over as she made room for the pan on the fire. She took the sliced mushrooms among other ingredients she had gathered, pouring a small amount of water into the pot as she placed them inside. Elesis watched the process with a particular interest, not easily able to believe even in a forest with what she considered to believe limited supplies that Arme could still make a delicious meal. Said magician was humming happily while she stirred the ingredients in the pan slowly, checking on the meat repeatedly. Finally she deemed it ready, turning to look at Amy.

"Could you strain the meat?" She asked, recieving a nod. The pink haired girl took care of her job quickly, handing the chunks to Arme. When she received them the girl promptly threw them into the pot along with the other ingredients, brushing her hands together satisfiedly. It was only a few minutes before she dispelled the fire underneath the pan, pouring the contents into the pot. She held it up victoriously, grinning.

"Behold! Mystery-meat stir-fry!" She proclaimed loudly. The chasers stared at Arme silently for a moment before Elesis nearly tackled her.

"It's ready, right?" She demanded, getting a nod from the magician. Amy held out a stack of seven bowls, Arme filling them all and passing them around. The group ate in content silence for a moment until Elesis finally found the need to speak, her second bowl cleaned.

"So, Ryan... You know the forest really well." She started. The druid nodded as though it was obvious, and Elesis hesitated.

"Well, one of the reasons we're passing through here is that the Troll is apparently on the loose again." At this Ryan seemed more alert, his eyes locked on Elesis.

"There have also been some problems going on with the village, so... I was thinking of sending you and Arme after the Troll while the rest of us reported to the village. There's been an explosion in the ammount of monsters over the last month, so we need to check all the villages anyway." She continued slowly. The orange haired boy spared a glance toward Arme, who kept her head down. She stared at the bowl intensely until she heard a quiet, "That sounds fine." Letting out a breath, Arme smiled as she looked around at the others, stopping only once she reached Lass. His eyes were wide as he looked at her, nothing else indicating his surprise at the situation. Ronan looked over at him as well.

"Lass...? Does that sound alright to you?" He questioned. The boy opened his mouth in what Arme was pretty certain would have been a protest, but then he looked over at Ryan. After a sigh, he nodded.

"It... That's fine." He murmured quietly, setting his empty bowl down next to Elesis, "About when will we be meeting up again?" Elesis shrugged.

"Hopefully the Troll won't be too tricky to find. It should take about... two days? We'll meet back in the Elven village." He nodded, eyes flickering over to the magician again as he leaned against a tree. Ryan stood up, stretching.

"When are we leaving?" He asked. Elesis paused for a second, thinking it over.

"As soon as you can." She mentioned finally, turning to Arme.

"Sound good with you?" Elesis questioned, looking at the purple-haired girl.

"It's good!" Arme smiled as she stood to help the muse, who had began dealing with the dishes, "It should be a couple minutes until I'm ready to go, though." Ryan nodded as he walked over to the edge of the clearing, grabbing onto one of the lower branches of the nearby tree, pulling himself up higher. He maintained that position until Arme was finished and ready to go ten minutes later. She watched the sliver haired boy carefully, who kept glancing at her as though he had something he wanted to say. No words were passed between the two, however, even as the two groups waved their goodbyes. The magician turned around slowly, only taking a couple steps before her arm was grabbed lightly. She turned around, not expecting to see the pink haired dancer who was looking at her concernedly.

"Arme, has your stomach been bothering you at all...?" She asked quietly, most of the other members ignorant of their conversation. With a sigh Arme nodded, her hand resting on the wound lightly. She frowned as she looked back at the muse, who was watching her with worry. Fishing something from her pocket, a small see-through vial filled with a vibrant red liquid was soon placed in Arme's hand.

"Take that before you eat tonight, all right? It should help a bit, I was experimenting with mixing potions with healing energy a while ago. I didn't want to mention it in front of Lass and make him even more worried, but you need to be really careful. I'm pretty certain your wound was disturbed when you were chasing the deer." Arme scratched the back of her head embarrasedly, nodding.

"I'll be careful. Thanks, Amy." The muse nodded, mouthing 'no problem' as she waved and turned back to the rest of her group. Ryan glanced at Arme as she caught up to him after slipping the vial in her bag, making her way through the forest with some difficulty. He took extra measures to make sure the path was cleared after she tripped, watching her quietly. There was no conversation between the two of them as they continued on, taking a more mild pace than Arme was accustomed to, but one that she was grateful for. The silence was nearly suffocating, but the magician couldn't think of anything she could say to make a conversation. She decided to simply observe their surroundings as she walked, taking in the trees that seemed to be growing larger and larger as they walked. The whole forest in itself seemed magical, with large mushrooms sprouting from the sides of most of the trees and reminding Arme of Alice in Wonderland. She giggled lightly at the thought, earning a strange look from the druid. He didn't comment in the end, allowing her to continue looking around in awe. The further they went, the more animals appeared. It wasn't uncommon for a rabbit to nearly run into their path, causing Arme to laugh happily.

"You're really loud..." Ryan finally murmured after about half an hour had passed, the magician pointing out every animal she had seen to the exhasperated druid.

"But everything here's so pretty!" She exclaimed, gasping as a butterfly landed on her shoulder, "Like this!" Ryan sighed.

"Amusing as that may be to you, there are also monsters here..." Arme blinked, jogging forward to catch up to him.

"R-really? There are monsters even in a place like this?" Ryan nodded.

"Warrior orcs and Harpies are pretty common, and they're not all. I wouldn't be surprised if you get bit by one of these 'pretty' animals... The forest is beautiful, but not all of the inhabitants are friendly." He explained. Arme pulled her hands back to her sides cautiously, looking around again. She remembered the harpies with a particular distaste, not only from being attacked by one but also having to defeather one. She shuddered at the memory, following along closer.

* * *

Night set faster than Arme was expecting in the forest, the glowing of the mushrooms and the greenery surprisingly luring in the darkness. She finally managed to get Ryan to agree to setting up a camp under a large mushroom, glowing softly in the black forest. She looked around quietly for a food to prepare, and ended up gathering a small assortment of the mushrooms and leaves she could find. Grateful she had packed some foods in her bag, Arme was able to make a small but decent dinner. They ate it without a word, Arme setting up the blankets Amy had given her before she left. She looked around worriedly as she put out the fire, finally realizing she couldn't find the druid. Her eyes hovered through the camp site slowly, and she finally noticed him sitting on top of the mushroom she had set her blanket up underneath. He looked somewhat lost as he stared out into the woods, and Arme bit her lip. Closing her eyes and hoping she wouldn't make him more miserable, Arme teleported up next to him. The druid looked over at her with a mild interest, staring back out into the woods a moment later.

"The forest is... Really nice..." She whispered quietly, following his gaze. She gasped as she saw small fairies playing in the distance, but didn't point them out for fear of stating the obvious. She looked down at the mushroom they were sitting on and with a shrug pulled out a piece. She was about to pop it in her mouth when the druid grabbed it out of her hands, throwing it off the side and into the dark bushes below without so much as a glance.

"Anything that glows in this place is poison, so if I were you I wouldn't eat it..." Ryan explained quietly. Arme blinked, looking back at him.

"Ah... You know a lot about this place, don't you?" The magician asked. Ryan leaned back on the glowing surface, gazing up at the tree tops.

"That tends to happen when you grow up in a place..."

"Oh... You grew up here..." Ryan chose not to answer, and the conversation was brought to an end. Arme sighed in frustration as she realized she didn't have anything she could ask him without worrying about hurting his feelings. She pulled her knees up to her chest for a second as she thought, and finally resigned herself to going to sleep.

"Good night..." With these final words she slid off the mushroom, hitting the ground roughly. She curled up in her blanket quietly, pulling the cover over her head to dim the glow. She heard footsteps nearing a fair while later, but was too tired to care.

* * *

Arme rubbed her eyes as light made it's way to her, infiltrating her vision. She sighed as she sat up lazily, stretching her arms over her head as she looked around.

"Ryan?" She called when she realized she couldn't find him anywhere at the camp. Her sights were brought to the top of the mushroom, but to her dismay she found that the druid wasn't there. She teleported up to search, though even from higher up Arme found she was unable to see far.

"Ryan?" Arme called again, louder. Yet again she recieved no response. Jumping down from the high up area, Arme looked back around the small site. She noted with confusion that the orange blanket she had set down the previous night was gone. _Maybe he got fed up with me trying to make a conversation and left...? _She wondered, peering around. She somehow doubted it, knowing at the very least he had more loyalty to Elesis than to just abandon her against the red head's instructions. With this in mind, Arme hummed while she packed up Lass' blanket; she had somehow ended up taking it with her. Leaning against the tree trunk, Arme had nearly fallen asleep when she heard leaves crunching nearby.

"Hey, where were yo..." Her voice trailed off as she opened her eyes, realizing that the sound wasn't Ryan but a large orc holding a gigantic hammer. It seemed to have noticed her when she spoke, and it lumbered toward her with it's hammer poised to strike.

"Ehh!" Arme rolled to avoid the hammer as it struck down by her, grazing her leg as she looked around. She scrambled frantically for her bag left lying near the empty fire-pit, but the orc seemed determined to keep her near the tree. Tossing a hammer at her that just barely missed, the orc continued closing in on her. Arme gritted her teeth as she did the best she could without a staff, fireballs spiralling from her hands and toward the orc. One hit directly in his eye, causing the monster to shriek loudly as it flailed it's hammer around at random. It connected solidly with her arm, and she grabbed onto the injured limb tightly as she was sent skidding a few feet back.

"Stone curse!" The spell lacked quite the effectiveness it held with her staff, but it was enough to give Arme a chance to send the orc flying into the air with a spiral of wind. It came crashing down moments later, ceasing movement as the stone cracked against it's skin. Cautiously, the petite magician sent forth a few fireballs to burn into it before she could be certain it was dead. With a sigh of relief she collapsed onto the grass, head down as she breathed heavily. Her eyes flew to her bleeding arm, and she flexed it cautiously. It was still able to move, though it sent pain through her in waves. Wincing, she allowed it to hang down beside her.

"You'd better hurry back..." She closed her eyes for a brief moment, though they flew open again when she heard a loud thunk next to her. She felt her stomach twist as she did, turning her head slowly. _There's no way that was anyone's footsteps..._Her worries were well founded. A stone hammer lay embedded in the ground next to her, and not far away stood two more large orcs. A small orc stood between them, a wooden club held in it's hand and a cruel sneer on it's face.

"Just great!" Arme moaned as she forced herself to stand again, glaring at the bag that seemed miles away. She conjured as many fire balls as she could to fend off the approaching group, edging over to the bag. A shriek distracted her, and Arme turned just in time to find a harpy launching itself at her.

"Gahh! It's to early for this!" The violet haired girl complained as she managed to make it out of the way. She gasped when she turned back to see the harpy. In missing her the bird had ended up sinking a talon into her bag, which was now held several feet above the ground.

"This is **so**not my day..." She murmured as she conjured more one-handed fireballs, trying in vain to set fire to the harpy's large wings. Before the small flame balls could reach the bird flapped it's wings, creating a gust that easily dispelled them. She let out a groan as she was hit in the side with another stone hammer, remembering the orcs that were approaching from the other side. Her eyes winced shut tightly as she held her side, the same one the gorgos had bitten. She wasn't given much time to think as an axe was flung into the picture from somewhere beside her, and for a second Arme was certain that was headed for her as well. A grin reached her face as it spun past her, landing squarely in the harpy's chest. It dropped to the ground immediately, and Arme ran to grab her bag as footsteps were heard coming near.

"Lass really wasn't lying when he said you were danger-prone..." Arme laughed embarrasedly as Ryan's voice was heard, and by the time she had managed to yank the staff out of the bag she could see him in the immediate area. She sent some proper fireballs over to assist in the battle, running in to help.

"Stone curse!" The three orcs were imprisoned in stone as her wand was pointed toward them, making them an easy target for the druid's axe, retrieved from the chest of the harpy moments prior.

"Phew...-"

"That's not all!" Her sigh of relief was cut off as a thunder of footsteps was heard from her right, and she turned rapidly to find a solid wall of orcs approaching. Harpies flew above, and Arme gasped at the sheer volume of monsters approaching.

"How did all of them find us?" She demanded as she teleported up onto one of the mushrooms higher up on the tree.

"I don't know!" The druid seemed equally confused as he transformed, a orange wolf taking his place on the battle field. Arme bit her lip as she charged her mp, realizing how difficult it must be for the orange haired boy to fight solo. Several enemies were cut through, all of the orcs lacking in skill. The harpies were a bit more difficult to take on, their ability of flight making them more difficult to hit. The attacks were sudden, coming down on the swarmed wolf as he fought the lower enemies. Before Arme could fully charge several harpies found her hiding spot, forcing her to move. She turned their wings to stone as she teleported, sending them crashing to the ground like dead-weights. Giving up entirely on just charging, the magician set out fire balls to the harpies. In larger masses it was more difficult for them to notice all of the flames, several catching the feathers. Shrieking harpies were soon filling the air as the flaming monsters crashed into each other, catching one another on fire until for a moment it seemed the entire sky was on fire. Arme watched mesmerizedly for a second, caught off guard when Ryan quickly grabbed her and dragged her out of the clearing.

"They're going to start dropping soon. It's best not to be caught in their midst..." Shuddering, Arme nodded. One by one the harpies came crashing onto the sea of orcs, and soon the entire area was filled with shrieks of pain. Arme winced, closing her eyes to the deaths of the group of enemies. It was several minutes until the sounds quieted down, and the magician opened her eyes hesitantly. She wished she hadn't the moment she did, eyes falling on the burned enemies ahead.

"Let's go." Arme turned to see Ryan standing next to her, still a wolf. He was kneeling down, causing Arme to stare at him confusedly.

"Hm?"

"You need to get to the Elven village... That arm looks bad, not to mention your side where you were hit." Arme's eyes widened.

"No! We can't go to the village or- Nnnh..." Her hand clutched her side again, and she winced as she looked at the wolf.

"Get on, now. Or would you rather walk?" His tone suggested quite clearly that no matter what she chose she would end up back at the village, so Arme sighed dejectedly as she allowed herself to be piggy-backed. His fur was surprisingly soft, and Arme excitedly patted his head, pulling on his ears. They quickly flicked out of her grasp, the wolf shaking his head quickly.

"Hold on tight, or you'll fall..." There was a hint of sorrow in his voice, and Arme couldn't help but wonder if she had done something wrong.

* * *

"We're almost there..." Arme stirred quietly as Ryan spoke, her eyes opening slightly. The trees appeared to be thinning out, those that were left thicker and with much larger mushroom platforms on them. She immediately noticed the lack of weight on her back and reached over her shoulder.

"Where's my bag? ... Oh." She remembered briefly the crashing of the harpies and sighed. Anything in the bag would have been in flames by now... Her heart dropped for a second as she remembered her necklace and her book, and her eyes widened. Feeling sick, she pressed her head down on Ryan's shoulder.

"Arme? Are you alright?" He questioned after a minute. Arme didn't respond. _My necklace... It's gone. I can't believe I... _She felt like crying, misery flooding into her the more she thought about it. The wolf didn't comment on her sudden misery, tangible enough that he could nearly feel himself running through it. She couldn't conjure up enough will to try to stop Ryan from entering the village, unwilling to even move as the druid approached the village. Fur began receding from his body as he transformed back into himself, and soon he was completely back to an elf. They were going at a slightly slower pace, yet even so Arme could hear the sound of upbeat music coming from nearby. She opened her eyes slightly, lifting her head to look up to where bright lights were beginning to enter her vision. More worry began filling her, and she tugged on Ryan's hair.

"M... My arm is fine now. We shouldn't go in the village..." She murmured in a last ditch attempt to get the orange haired boy to turn around.

"We're almost there anyway. That needs to be checked or it'll get worse." The druid replied, setting her down when they got closer to the entrance.

"But..." She couldn't think up a response, words dying in her throat as they approached two large wooden gates. The posts at either side held guards, bows held in their hands as they looked around. When their eyes fell on Ryan they opened the gate nearly immediately, looking at Arme curiously. The gates seemed to open slowly, glowing from the village terribly obvious. Ryan began approaching the entrance, stopping only once the gate was entirely open. His body had frozen, and Arme watched as his eyes widened. A look of despair entered his face, and Arme soon traced his gaze to the rather large banner that read 'Happy Birthday, Lire!'. The accompanying music in the background added even more of an impact, causing Arme to sigh. _This... Not only did I destroy everything in my bag, I also failed at keeping him away from the village. _

"Ryan..." The elf didn't seem to hear her voice at all, taking the slightest step back. Uncertain of what to do, Arme reached cautiously for his arm. She was only able to graze his arm before he flinched back, taking a few more steps back before turning around entirely and running.

"Ryan!" It was no use. The druid disappeared from her sights nearly immediately, and Arme knew without trying that he was several times faster than her. She stared helplessly after him for a moment, finally turning back to the village. _It would be best to find everyone else before I try to do anything on my own... _She stepped into the festival hesitantly, looking around at the group of elves that turned to look at her. The music, she eventually decided, would be the best to find the others; it was a violin, which meant that they had very possibly asked Amy for a song. Her hand flew gingerly to her arm as she remembered she also needed to get it checked by the muse. She let out a sigh as she noted that Lass wouldn't be happy with her wound either, but that would have to wait until later. With a destination she began making her way towards the music, unable to stop herself from admiring the scenery as she went. The forest village maintained the beauty of the forest easily, the elves inhabiting it seeming to have an air of grace around them. Most of them held bows and deep green eyes, and all were clothed in dresses that seemed to be of light, white cloth materials, most likely for the festival. The music got louder as she continued walking through the paths, and she was soon greeted by the sight of a large group of elves surrounding a stage where, as predicted, Amy was standing. She was dressed in a similar attire to the elves with a pink tint, and she had her eyes shut as the bow ran back and forth quickly on the strings of the violin.

"Arme?" The magician turned quickly to see Elesis standing next to her, clothed similarly to Amy yet with a red tint. Arme supposed most of the others would be dressed the same, and her guess was soon confirmed as Ronan came to join them wearing a similar outfit to the other two, though with a hint of blue and altered to suit males. The two were staring at Arme with wide eyes, causing the amethyst-eyed girl to look at the ground.

"Where's Ryan?" The redhead demanded, her voice low as not to catch the attention of the elves nearby. Looking back up at them, Arme paused before answering.

"We were swarmed by orcs and harpies... He said we needed to return to the village." She murmured quietly.

"Where is he now?- What happened to your arm?" The magician looked around uncomfortably.

"We were in a fight, it's not as bad as it looks. Ryan ran off when we reached the gates, there was no way I could have caught up with him. I figured you guys might know what to do, so..." She trailed off quietly, watching as the spell knight grabbed her arm to inspect it. His hand hovered just above the bloodied skin for a moment, a soft blue light spiralling through it as he turned to Elesis.

"What should we do...?" Elesis bit her lip, a frown showing up on her face.

"Ryan knows the forest better than any of us. If he doesn't want to be found, he's not going to be found. I think... I think we should just leave him be." She finally concluded, glancing between the two other chasers. Arme turned her head to look back to where the gate was, the forest towering over and branches leaning into the village. Looking back to where Elesis stood, she gave a hesitant nod. Ronan sighed.

"I suppose there's nothing much else we can do... " Especially since everything's been acting up lately, the elven corps have been having a difficult time keeping the village safe. Today, when most of them are home with their families, there isn't much guard for the village."

"Yeah. As it is, Jin and Lass are keeping a lookout, right?" She received a nod from Ronan, then turned to Arme.

"You should probably get cleaned up, they have an outfit prepared for you for the festival. And don't ask me how they did it, I don't know." She added the last part at the magician's questioning look, giving a shrug. Arme nodded, looking around.

"Where do I go...?"

"Over there." The spell knight pointed out a building that was a decent distance away, shingled with what seemed to be red flower petals. Arme gave a small wave to the pair before she left, glancing up to the stage where the muse didn't seem to have noticed their presence. She made her way to the building carefully, noting her injured right arm seemed to be in much better shape than before Ronan had looked at it. Making it a point to thank the indigo haired man later, she continued on until she was standing in front of the door, an arch with a thin white cloth covering it.

Entering quietly, the first thing she noted was that the room was somewhat like a bedroom, the bed pushed up against the wall with three outfits left lying on it. She walked over to them carefully, inspecting each. The first was slightly orange, and she easily identified it as Ryan's. It seemed slightly more fancy than the outfits the other chasers had been wearing, and Arme attributed that to the fact that it was his home village. The next was a pale purple, and Arme picked it up cautiously. It looked to be the right size for her, and she held it out in front of her curiously. Walking away from the bed, she decided to change in the small side room. She figured out quickly that it was a bathroom, and her eyes went to the shower. Checking her own appearance in the mirror, she decided to quickly wash up before switching outfits. It only took her a few minutes to finish in the shower, and she was changed just as quickly when she got out. She looked at her staff, and finally decided to pick it up and bring it with her. Leaving her regular attire folded and on the bed, Arme was just about to leave the room when the third outfit on the bed caught her eye. Made of a fine light green material, the dress was much more elaborate than the others, practically screaming 'important person!'. A hand running over the dress, she concluded quietly that it was probably Lire's. With a sigh she turned back to the door, and she had hardly stepped outside before a blur of pink entered her vision.

"Arme! I heard you were hurt! Are you okay? And how did they know your measurements to make that?" Questions were thrown at her from Amy, and Arme took a deep breath.

"I was hurt a bit, Ronan looked at it and he thinks it's fine. I feel alright too, so that's not a problem. And the dress... I have no idea." She shrugged, getting a confused look from the dancer.

"Huh, really? Wierd. Anyway, there's stuff going on at the town center! Let's go!" Amy grabbed her injured arm hyperly, causing Arme to wince slightly as she was dragged along. The muse remained unaware as she pulled Arme until they reached the stage, where a performance was going on. Elves in elaborate costumes were spiralling around, dancing in difficult looking routines across the stage. There weren't many seats left when Arme and Amy made it back, and they were forced to take two seats near the back.

"Oh! You probably left your bag back in the room, but when we go back there can I have that vial back? It would make a good container for some of the other potions I've been working on." Arme's face paled as she remembered the potion Amy had given her before the groups split and she thought back to her bag, burnt to a crisp somewhere in the forest.

"Amy... I think I owe you a new vial." She said quietly, eyes to the ground. Amy blinked.

"Really? Why?" Sighing, Arme began her explanation.

"Well, you probably heard that we were attacked by harpies and orcs, right? Well... My bag was snatched by a harpy, and I got my wand back, but later on I set some harpies on fire. They fell down to the ground and set everything on fire, where my bag was..." Amy patted her on the back.

"That sucks... Wait. Was this before or after your dinner?" The dancer asked, looking at her seriously.

"After, it was this morning." The magician said quietly. Amy sighed with relief.

"That's good. You have to be really careful about your side for a while." She said. Arme bit her lip, looking down at her hands as she tried to think of how exactly she could tell the muse she had completely forgotten about the potion. Before she could, Amy shot up.

"Oh! I said I would tell Jin when I finished with my performance!" She exclaimed, turning to wave at Arme.

"I'll be right back!" The magician watched while the energetic dancer ran off, headed in the direction of the front gate. With a sigh, Arme looked around. Elesis and Ronan were nowhere to be seen, and she recalled Jin and Lass being on guard. Looking up at the stage, Arme couldn't find herself in the mood to watch. Bringing up the lost vial had also reminded her of her lost items, making her feel miserable. With a sigh, Arme stood up and walked away from the town's center. Thought majority of the festivities were taking place in the center, the entire village seemed to be bustling with energy. She walked through the dirt and grass paths of the village, finally ending up at a small gate on the wooden wall surrounding the town. A shine outside it caught her eye, and before she could stop herself Arme found herself pushing the gate open. Directly outside was a long path, and there was indeed something shining at the end. Curiosity piqued, Arme began walking down the well-beaten path. The flora around seemed more vivid than inside the village itself, or even outside in the forest. Flowers of many colours spiralled up the trunks of trees, blossoming in no particular order.

The path widened out as she got closer to the end, finally opening up into a large circular clearing. It was surrounded by dense trees, creating an almost perfect wall. In the center lay a large lake, surrounded by flowers and bushes of all kinds. Arme carefully approached it, kneeling down at the side of the water to reach into it. Her fingertips grazed the surface lightly, the cool liquid bringing a smile to her face. She sat back up on her heels, eyes moving to the tree tops. Before her head was the entire way up something else caught her eyes, and she opened her eyes to stare disbelievingly at the orange that had caught her eye. Ryan was, in fact, sitting at the other side of the lake, knees pulled up to his chest and head down. He didn't appear to have noticed her at all, nor did he make any movement when she cautiously stood up, the grass sounding quietly underneath her feet. Walking around the side of the lake as quietly as she could manage, Arme only stopped once she reached the other side where the elf sat. Hesitating, Arme finally sat down next to him. The magician's eyes traced back from the lake to Ryan repeatedly, not quite certain what to say. She cautiously reached out to rest her hand on his arm, this time not receiving the same flinch she had earlier.

"Um... I don't know if I can help at all, but-" At this point Ryan turned his head to look at her, the pure dead look in his eyes enough to stop Arme mid-sentence.

"You're the last person I want to be around me right now. Please, go away." He said, his voice a cold monotone as he looked back out at the lake. Arme stared for a second, but didn't move. The druid made no further acknowledgement of her, and the magician sighed.

"I... I know you're upset, but...Shouldn't you go down to the village and celebrate her birthday with everyone else?" This apparently wasn't the right thing to say. Ryan turned to her again, pulling away from her hand.

"No! They have no idea what happened to her, for them to just be... Fooling around like that! Being in there just reminds me..." The druid's voice started out loud, quieting down as he finished. The last sentence ended abruptly, Ryan's head falling down to his knees again. It was a moment before Arme mustered the courage to place her hand on his shoulder, the druid not moving in the least.

"What does it remind you of...?" She questioned, looking back out at the lake. There was a long pause, and for a moment Arme was certain he wasn't going to answer.

"That I... I keep lying to myself. She's gone, and I'm never going to see her again." He whispered finally. Arme felt her heart clench in sympathy for the utterly miserable sounding elf, and she rubbed his back lightly.

"But Ronan said... Ronan said she wasn't dead. That means she's somewhere, right? It means that no matter what, you shouldn't give up." At this point the druid attempted to move away from the hand on his back, though his current position made it difficult to do so. Finally he stood up, looking down at Arme.

"There's no way I can get to her where she is, or I would have already! Ronan only says that because he has no idea what the hell happened to her! None of them do, obviously! Hell, I doubt you know, even though you should!" He yelled, causing Arme to shrink back.

"I... I should know?" She whispered confusedly, looking back into the angry green eyes.

"Well, it's obvious you're the exact same! Someone should just tell you the truth so you can get **out** of here!" This statement only proved to confuse the magician even more.

"Tell me what...?" She asked, earning a glare from the druid.

"That you're going to end up-" Ryan was cut off before he could finish his sentence, a loud crack sounding as a large green monster entered the serene clearing.

"T-troll!" The druid gasped, leaping back and out of the way. Arme, unfortunately, wasn't able to move out of the way as quickly as the druid. Seeing as it had burst right in behind her, the troll's giant hand, holding a nail, ended up swinging into her. Heavily striking her back, it wasn't long before Arme found herself thrust into the cold water of the lake. The shade of the trees hadn't helped at all with warming it, and the icy cold water bit at her skin. The outfit she was wearing was thankfully lighter than her everyday outfit, and it didn't weigh her down very much as she tried to remember the basics of swimming that Amy had taught her a few days prior. Finally she made it to the surface, pulling her staff out of the soaking pocket of her dress. She waded over to the edge, gasping as she pulled herself onto the somewhat wet ground. A little ways away was Ryan, transformed into a wolf as he lunged at the Troll. It lumbered immensely over him, but it's focus wasn't on the druid. It's head was directed at Arme, white eyes staring at her in an eerie manner that reminded Arme of the Gorgos much more than she would have liked.

Pulling herself up fully onto the shore, Arme first summoned a barrier around herself, teleporting so the lake was in between her and the distracted troll. Ignoring the wolf latched onto the strange, tree-like plant growing from it's back, the troll leapt up and into the air. It came thundering down a few feet away from Arme, but from previous experiences Arme was prepared. Teleporting into the air, Arme gave herself time to drop after the troll landed. The ground, still shaking underneath her feet, nearly knocked over the purple haired girl, yet she managed to retain her balance. Conjuring several fireballs, she sent all of them to burn into the troll's face. In a frenzy of attempts to avoid the balls of fire, it twisted in such a way that one ignited the tree on it's back. With a shriek it charged at the magician, though the distance easily gave her time to teleport. As the fire grew Ryan took the opportunity to jump off it's back. It flailed around wildly, arms swinging and crashing into several trees. The flames didn't seem to catch onto the trees around, causing a sigh of relief from Arme as she watched the Troll fall into a heap of limbs, most still moving around. Footsteps were heard approaching rapidly, and Arme turned to see Jin and Amy running toward them, more following behind.

"Arme-" Before she could hear what the muse was calling out, something struck her solidly and heavily in the side. The weight of whatever it was pressed heavily on her, and soon black dots were swarming in Arme's vision. Her head thudded to the ground, and she heard no more.

* * *

Arme blinked as she cracked open her eyes, light filtering in. She was in the room from earlier, and her outfit had been changed into pajamas. A window was open and a gentle breeze blew in through it, ruffling Arme's wet hair lightly. _Still wet?_She reached up to grab a strand, and found that there was still water dripping from it. She sighed in relief as she sat up, placing a hand on her forehead. It was a comfort to know she hadn't been unconcious for too long. Thought was cut short as she was caught in a violent series of coughs, and when she finally recovered she rested her head on the wall. Her eyes opened again and she looked around the room, surprised to notice Lass standing in the doorway in his regular attire. A bag held in one hand and a tray of food in the other, he was watching her carefully.

"Ah-! Lass..." She exclaimed, more alert as he set down the bag on the desk and brought the food tray over. He set it down on her lap cautiously, taking the lid off the small container to reveal a breast of meat and some sort of pasta next to it. He handed her a fork and promptly sat down next to the bed on the floor, head leaning onto the sheets.

"It's Elvish Harpie." He said quietly in response to her questioning gaze. Arme nodded, looking down from the food to the exhausted-appearing assassin. He didn't continue at all, and Arme took that as a cue to start eating. She still watched him curiously, half surprised he hadn't lectured her on her danger-proneness yet. No words were spoken between the two until the magician finished her food, setting the tray down next to her.

"What happened?" Arme finally asked, earning a slow blink from cerulean eyes. He took a deep breath before starting.

"The troll... We're not sure if it was coincidence or not, but with the last of his strength he ended up hurling the nail he was holding. The blunt end crashed into you just as we all showed up, knocking you unconcious. We brought you here, where Amy and Elesis changed you and checked your wound. After that Amy came outside and spoke to us... From talking to Ryan, we found out you apparently forgot to take the potion Amy gave you. It was already getting a bit rough, and the impact on it was enough to hurt your stomach pretty bad. We **also**found out that you were hit with a hammer in the same side earlier, which didn't help the case at all." He concluded, standing up. Arme bit her lip, realizing that she really hadn't been helping her injuries at all.

"I... I'm still fine to travel, right?" She asked. Surprisingly, she received a nod from the assassin.

"We're pretty close to the castle, it's only about a two day's journey. We're going to be staying there for a while, where you can get some rest." Lass watched her, and Arme was almost certain he was leaving out something else he wanted to say. Placing a hand on his hip, the thief sighed as he ran his other hand through his short silver hair. His mouth opened and then closed again, eyes opening again. He picked up her bowl, setting it on the desk next to the bag he had brought in, causing Arme to stare at it curiously. He noted her gaze, and his hand hung over the bag for a second before he turned back to her.

"Hmm... Close your eyes for a second." Arme complied with the request hesitantly, eyes clenching shut to resist the temptation of looking. She could only hear the slightest sound of a clink, the only feeling she noted a slight pressure just below her neck. Then a definite weight was dropped on her lap, forcing Arme to work hard at keeping her eyes shut.

"Okay, open them." Arme did as instructed, her hand flying up to her neck. Her heart stopped for a second as she touched cold metal, and she disbelievingly wrapped her hand around the object. Pulling it a few inches away from her skin, Arme opened her hand to see a familiar gold and silver shape. Her necklace lying in her palm, Arme stared at it disbelievingly for a second before allowing it to drop, gaze directed to her lap. Sitting on it, it appeared was her book. She looked cautiously at the cover, and she opened to flip through the front pages. Her own hand writing was distinguishable underneath each of the sentences, and Arme silently closed the book to look at Lass, her eyes watering. Without warning she flung her arms around his neck, head resting on his shoulder as she held him tightly.

"L-lass! How'd you do that? I thought they were gone forever!" She let out, tears of joy flowing freely. After a second Lass' hand rested lightly on the back of her head, and he sighed.

"Amy said you told her that it set on fire, and Ryan told us all the actual story... I remembered hearing somewhere along the line that a mage's fire only burns what they see as the enemy, so I figured there was a chance..." She pulled back somewhat reluctantly to look at him, blue eyes peering back into her amethyst.

"T-thanks..." She murmured quietly. Lass shrugged.

"I wanted my blanket back." With that he stood up, a hand resting on her head.

"I... Arme, try not to go places on your own, alright? If Ryan wasn't at the lake that battle might have gone a lot worse. We don't know why, but monsters seem to be targeting you... It's not normal... Just... Be careful." He finished, his hand running absentmindedly through her hair as he turned around. At the door he turned back to look at her once more, but then turned away again, grabbing the plate as he left the small room. Arme stared at the door for a minute, surprised when Amy entered seconds later. She looked at the door with a sigh as she took up Lass' previous spot on the floor.

"Poor guy... Right now he's still trying to find the line between protective and overprotective." Arme's eyes went to the door as well, hands resting on her book.

"I..."

"He's probably going to have some trouble accepting some things, so just don't worry if he's confusing for the time being." Arme blinked curiously.

"What things?" The pink haired girl shrugged with a knowing smile, and for all that she tried Arme couldn't get any more information out of her.

* * *

A/N: ZOMG 47 freaking reviews for this random story? You all make me feel so loved! ;_; So... For the 50th reviewer I'm gonna write a oneshot! Just comment like normal, and If you're the 50th I'll message u back asking what you want =3 I feel so uber happy! And sorry about the late update and forcing Willow-Chan to stay up with me while I wrote it! She also helped me decide on the meal for Arme x3 I'm sorry it was late, all my weekends have been so busy lately x-x and what with exams coming up, I don't think I'm going to get a break.

Love you all!

-Utsuro


	15. Mysterious Happenings

A/N: Nomnom~!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything~

Chapter 14: Mysterious Happenings

* * *

Arme woke up the next morning lazily, not bothering to do so much as open her eyes as she regained conciousness. Her stomach was hurting much more than it had the previous day, though even if asked there was no way she would admit it. After all, they were supposed to be leaving the Elven forest that day... The magician had almost gone back to sleep when she heard the rustle of cloth, and feet hastily coming towards her bed. Her eyes had almost opened when the footsteps stopped, a hushed whisper heard.

"Amy! What are you doing?"

"I'm waking her up, silly~!" There was no mistaking those voices; Amy and Lass.

"Don't! She still needs as much sleep as she can get right now."

"I agree, but we need to get going! As it is, we're going to have to spend around a month at the abandoned castle!"

"We'll get going. I don't need to wake her up to pick her up."

"Ahh~! I get it~" It was at this point that Arme decided to let her conciousness be known, sitting up on the bed to rub her eyes. When she opened them she saw the two predicted people, Lass standing behind the muse and holding the collar of her shirt in a measure to keep her away from the thought-to-be-sleeping magician.

"Nhh... Good morning..." She mumbled, looking at the pair. Lass blinked, letting go of Amy.

"Hm? Sorry, did we wake you up?" Arme shook her head slowly, still feeling rather tired. Her hand rested on her stomach in a position that she hoped to be subtle; she knew Lass wouldn't be too happy to find out it was hurting. With a light stretch she swung her legs off the bed, somewhat reluctant to stand up due to the pain in her abdomen.

"I woke up a couple minutes ago. What time is it...?" Amy shrugged.

"Early. Wanted to let you sleep, but..." As Lass spoke he sent a glare at the dancer, quite obviously not believing that Arme had been awake before their disturbance. Amy sent him an apologetic look before turning back to the magician, smiling.

"Well, you can sleep while we travel, kay~?" She exclaimed, reaching forward to pull Arme off the bed. Before the shorter girl could resist she was yanked up a bit faster than her stomach could take, nearly sending her to the floor. She winced and forced a smile onto her face for the girl, who seemed extremely concerned.

"Ahh! Arme! I'm so sorry!" She gasped, hurriedly sitting the magician back in the bed. Lass was next to Arme in a second, looking at her seriously.

"Are you alright?" The magician nodded, taking a moment to look at the vibrant blue eyes staring back at her. She had always been told her eyes were pretty, but surely they weren't that sparkly? She was unable to hide her laughter at the thought of actually telling Lass that, and she recieved a confused glance. Remembering the question, Arme nodded.

"I'm fine, Lass. You don't need to worry!" He tilted his head to the side in the slightest, still looking at her intently.

"You're sure...? If you need some rest, we can postpone leaving." He said quietly. Arme actually did consider the offer for a second, then shook her head. Admitting that she wanted to stay would be admitting that she was in a fair ammount of pain. And by the sound of Amy's speech earlier, they needed to get moving pretty quickly... She would have enough time to rest at the castle.

"I'm fine, Lass." She repeated, watching his expression carefully. The assassin bit his lip lightly, observing her for a few more seconds and then sighing.

"Alright, then. Your stuff is already packed, so we should get going..." He leaned forward almost unconciously, and Arme blinked as he pressed his lips to her forehead.

"Aww!" Lass shot back as though electrocuted when he heard Amy's voice, a blush painfully evident on his pale skin. His eyes widened as he looked back at Arme, the magician staring back with a small smile.

"I-ah...N-no-! Sorry!" He stuttered, holding his hands out infront of him. Both girls in the room laughed lightly at the assassin's unusually flustered demeanor, Arme attempting to push herself up and off the bed.

"I don't mind!" She commented, standing up wobbily. His concern outweighing his embarrasment, Lass reached out with an arm to steady her.

"So, let's get going?" He asked, still quite red. Holding onto the offered arm heavily, Arme shook her head.

"I don't really want to travel in my pajamas..." She commented. Lass looked at her for a second, and then down at her apparel.

"Oh! Are you sure you'll be fine to change on your own, though? Do you need help?" He asked. The magician blushed heavily and shook her head, only then allowing the white haired boy to realize the implications of his words.

"Not me! I-I meant Amy! I-I didn't..." He let the sentence out shakily, the flush on his face intensifying. It was at this point that Amy came over, holding Arme's other arm to support her.

"I think we got it~ Don't worry about it, you can go outside and tell everyone Arme's up and getting ready~!" Lass nodded at the instructions, seeming grateful for an opprotunity to leave the room. He sent Arme one last glance before heading out the door, the two girls watching. Amy sighed, a grin on her face.

"You know, some days he's the smartest guy I've ever met. He doesn't think through his words very well when he's nervous." Amy commented vaguely, turning to Arme.

"So, do you actually need help?" Arme thought for a second, and shook her head.

"I should be fine... I think." She stated uncertainly. Amy giggled, then looked back at her.

"Alright~! I'll wait in the bathroom, cuz if I go outside without you Lass'll get worried." She explained, giving a small wave as she headed over to the small bathroom. Arme sat back down on the bed for a second, sighing before looking around for her bag. It was a little ways away on the desk, causing the magician to frown. She almost called Amy in for help, but instead stood up with determination. It was only a few feet away... In somewhat a repeat of what she had done the first time she had woken up after she was bitten, Arme took as large a step as she could and stumbled forward the rest of the distance, grabbing onto the ledge of the desk before she could fall. Her stomach protested to the action, causing Arme to bite her lip. She pulled her clothes out of the bag as quickly as she could, using the desk as support while she changed. It wasn't the most graceful act, but she certainly felt much less helpless than she would have if she had needed assistance. Finally struggling into the purple outfit, Arme gave a sigh.

"Amy, I'm done!" The mentioned pink haired girl entered the room quickly, looking at the magician.

"Let's go, then~?" Arme nodded, allowing herself to be lightly supported by the dancer. They made their way out of the small, dimly lit room the moment after, Arme looking around. Most of the other chasers had gathered around the entrance as they waited for the purple haired girl to exit. Lass was predictably the closest, relieving Amy of carrying Arme the moment they were close enough. He was more cautious than usual picking her up, and he grabbed her bag from her. Arme almost protested as it was tossed to Jin, but the fighter didn't seem to mind. He was one of the few that didn't carry a bag of his own, Amy's most likely holding more than enough for both of them. Instead, the magician turned her attention to their surroundings. It was eerily dark, and Arme found it quite a bit less plesant than when outside the village. The village itself contained several less of the glowing mushrooms than the forest, depriving it of the glow that made it almost mystical. It was most likely better for sleeping to, though... With a sigh she rested her chin on the assassin's shoulder, taking a glance at all the others. Her eyes lingered on Ryan for a moment, and she wondered what exactly had happened the previous day after she had gone unconcious. Was he any better now...? Most likely not, jugding by his distance from the rest of the group. He was almost glaring at her, though even through the dimly lit forest she could see that his eyes didn't hold malace. That was good...

"Okay, guys! It'll take two days to get to the castle, and from there I'll go over what we need to do again. There aren't any villages in between here and there, so we'll be camping out!" This elicited both cheers and sighs from the group, Arme one of the less joyful people. She allowed her eyes to close as the group began walking, the slight sway of Lass' steps easily luring her into the sleep she had been in moments ago.

* * *

A large jolt awoke Arme, her eyes opening slowly, and then flying open the rest of the way. She stared in shock at the scene infront of her, her first instinct to get on solid ground. They seemed to be in the middle of a battle, several enemies with purple cloaks surrounding them. Large orcs with hammers were staggered inbetween the tall purple monsters, a strangely grey colour. It was nowhere near the forest, and they now seemed to be in the middle of a large open field. Bushes were scattered across the dull grass, though there were few.

"What's going on?" She demanded as Lass managed to maneuver them out of the ever closing circle. Letting her off his back, the assassin still held her by the waist as he backed away from the monsters, all seeming to have turned to look at them. Her feet were a few inches off the ground, giving her no opprotunities to move as she looked at Lass, taking in the confused expression on his face.

"I'm not entirely certain right now. Damn it..." He unexpectedly leapt back to avoid a bolt of thunder coming from the staffs of one of the purple cloaked monsters, Arme grabbing onto his shirt tightly.

"Elesis, What the hell is going on here?" He yelled loudly, giving Arme a second to try to figure out where the mentioned redhead was on the battle field. She finally spotted the knight when she yelled out a response.

"I don't **know**, Lass! We'll figure it out when our lives **aren't **in danger, alright?" Arme nodded in agreement with the statement, pushing away from Lass.

"Put me down!" The thief looked at her like she was crazy, holding on tighter.

"Arme, they're all after you! There's no way you can dodge all their attacks, do you know how dangerous-?"

"The faster we get rid of them, the safer it'll be! I can keep myself protected with a saver and teleport, I'll be fine!" Lass looked down at her for a second, and then back toward the hordes of enemies.

"Tch..." He took another leap back, pulling her as far away from the enemies as he could before setting her down. When he did he stared at her seriously, a frown on his face.

"Be **careful**, Arme." The hand he had still been holding her by let go reluctantly after giving her back her staff (she wasn't certain of when he had taken posession of it, though she supposed it didn't matter), and one last glance was sent in her direction before he went to join the others. Arme wasted no time in casting a saver around her, grateful her legs were supporting her properly; she had been partially worried she would collapse the moment Lass set her down. The pain in her stomach had dulled, hardly bothering her as she surveyed the battle scene. Ronan and Elesis seemed to be holding up fine against the odd monsters, Ronan's gon attempting to help as it often did. Slightly further away were Amy and... Her eyes widened. _Where's Jin? _Looking through all the monsters, she hardly had time to see the red haired fighter caught and held in the line of a thunderbolt. Gasping, Arme did the first thing she could think of; teleporting inbetween the monster and her comrade. Eyes clenching shut, she noticed with relief that she hadn't been shocked. When her amethyst eyes opened she could see the lightning twisting around the sheild, fading off into nothing. Soon the flow stopped completely, a kick from the slightly bruised fighter knocking the weapon out of the dark magician's hands.

"Thanks." Arme nodded, holding onto her staff tightly and praying Lass hadn't seen her stunt. She had been lucky enough that the saver had taken the blow, but... Thinking again, Arme quickly set another layer of defense through her saver before, casting a hasty cure on Jin.

"Arme, watch out!" The magician followed a command from Ronan without thinking, teleporting several feet away before turning back to the spot she had been standing. She shuddered slightly at the sight; most of the monsters had been swarmed behind her. A hammer was embedded a few feet away from the spot she had previously been standing, .

"Dragon Arc!" The horde appeared to be good for something, as with them all in one spot it was increasingly simple for the large dragon who flew in from seemingly no where to roast them all with one large, consuming flame. If that wasn't enough to destroy the enemies (which it wasn't, judging by the several burned ones left standing), Amy dropping a piano on the remainder certainly was. By the time the instrument had faded away there were only a few left, quite easily decapitated by the female swordsman and Lass as they came to join the gathering group. Most eyes were on Elesis, confusion evident on the faces of nearly every chaser.

"What just happened?" Arme was the one to begin the conversation, quite easily the most confused in the group. Elesis glanced at the magician out of the corner of her eye, appearing frustrated. Finally Ronan responded, looking just as frustrated as the knight.

"Those were dark magicians and Orc Zombie Warriors... But they aren't supposed to be here- anywhere near here, in fact! The Forsaken Barrows are still a five day's travel away!" Sighing, the knight looked over at Elesis, "Do you have any ideas?" The redhead shook her head, looking at all the others. Hesitantly, Jin raised his hand.

"Haven't monsters been acting up for about a month? Maybe they just went to attack a village or something and got lost?" Elesis bit her lip, hand on her chin.

"I suppose so, but... That doesn't sound right to me." The knight let out another sigh, looking at the others again, "Well, there's nothing we can do about it right now! Let's just get moving, It might make more sense when we get to the castle... Until then, everyone keep an eye out! We don't need something like this to catch us off guard again!" Arme nodded, turning to look for Jin. She found him standing next to Amy and made her way over, waving to the pair.

"Can I have my book from my bag, Jin? I don't think I'm going to be getting much sleep with this stuff going on." The fighter nodded, handing her the entire bag to allow her to rifle through it. The book was surfaced in a short period of time, Arme handing her bag back to Jin with an apologetic look and turning back to where she knew Lass was standing. She waved the book in the air to show him as she approached, a smile stealing onto her face as she remembered that she had nearly lost it. The assassin simply nodded, crouching down to allow her to easily get onto his back. The magician's joy didn't recede at all, even as the pain in her stomach was beginning to intensify. It was something she had begun to expect over the previous day, realizing it would most likely happen until the wound was fully healed. She skimmed through the pages quickly, taking the time to make sure all of the english writing was still there. It was, as expected, yet it still caused her to breath a sigh of relief. She finally opened to the page she could last remember reading, checking over the last couple of sentences before continuing on. The group had began moving at a fast pace, everyone clearly eager to get where they needed to go. The silence that hung through the air seemed different than it normally was, confusion and worry voiced in the void of noise.

* * *

The group had been travelling for what Arme was certain were hours before Elesis finally stopped them for the purpose of lunch. Arme was personally grateful; she hadn't eaten breakfast, and the fact that they had been fighting off and on since the first battle wasn't helping. The others seemed equally or more so exhausted, mainly due to the fact that they had also been running. Another though came to her, and she nearly jumped off the thief's back. He looked back at her curiously, seemingly unfazed by all of the running. But... He was carring another person as well, and Arme was certain it must have been exhausting. The magician felt more than slightly guilty at that point, looking at Lass with worry. Turning her head back to Elesis, she saw the knight peering back at her.

"I'm not sure what all there is to cook around here... Ronan, what kind of foods do we have avaliable?" The spell knight thought for a second and then shrugged.

"Aside from eating those dark magicians we killed a while back," He paused here, shuddering, "I'm not certain. We can always find something, though; travelling by dragon is pretty fast." He looked over to Elesis, who nodded.

"Hmm... Anyone feel like going on a dragon ride today?" She asked. Arme almost raised her hand, then stopped, thinking about the most probable reactions (and concequences, should she actually be allowed on). Amy's hand was the next to shoot up in the air, though it was quite quickly pulled down by Jin's own. Remembering the incident from the Gorge of Oath, Arme chuckled. Amy would be about as haphazard as her on a dragon... The pink haired girl pouted, holding Jin's hand back tightly. Blushing, the fighter looked away. Arme probably would have continued watching the couple if Elesis hadn't spoken up again, her voice loudly demanding the attention of the other members.

"Alright, then. Since no one else wants to go, or is too much of a hazard to themselves to go, Ronan and I will get the food. Arme, can you start a fire while we're gone? And Lass, since your the fastest I need you to go check ahead. We don't want to be caught unaware... If there are any enemies just come back straight away, no fighting. Let's see... Ryan, I'd like you to collect some dead branches off the bushes nearby for Arme to burn. Jin..." She turned to look at the fighter and caught sight of Amy, who was now spinning around in a circle and dragging Jin with her, "Never mind." Walking over to where Ronan was, Elesis waited patiently for the knight to call back his dragon. The rest of the group watched until the pair were gone, Ryan the first to depart after the dragon had flown away. Arme turned to watch the druid, her attentions on the orange haired boy until she just barely saw Lass moving from the corner of her eye. Before he could move completely out of her sites Arme twirled around, hands grabbing onto his arm. The assassin looked back at her, eyebrows raised.

"Hm?" Arme bit her lip, eyes to the ground.

"Lass... Are you sure you're alright to go? I mean... You've been carrying me for hours and running and fighting! That has to be tiring... If you stay here, I can go check ahead! You should rest for a little bit." She explained quietly, concern lacing her voice.

"You're worried?" Arme blushed at the statement, keeping her eyes to the ground when he chuckled lightly, "Ah. Arme, don't worry about it. You're far too light for it to actually bother me to carry you... To be honest, I forget I'm carrying you most of the time." There was a slight smirk adorning his face when she dared to look up, and he ruffled her hair softly, "Thanks for the concern, though." Pulling his arm out of her grasp, the assassin turned around.

"I'll be back in a little while." Arme watched quietly, her cheeks still red, "Be careful!" This earned another laugh from the silver haired boy.

"I should be telling you that!" With that he was gone, leaving only Arme, Amy and Jin in the area. Looking over at them, Arme noted with shock the scimitar on the ground. _Well he was told not to fight, and I guess travelling would be faster without it..._ Deciding not to worry over it, she turned to look at where Jin and Amy were playfully bantering. Catching the mage's gaze, Amy waved her over.

"Arme, get over here!" The short girl complied, walking over to find out what was going on.

"It couldn't be **that **dangerous for me to be on a dragon, right?" She asked, looking between Arme and Jin. The purple haired girl almost laughed at this, looking back at the dancer.

"I think she's on my side, Amy." Jin said, watching Arme with amusement. The pink haired girl huffed, yet there was still a smile on her lips, "Fine~ What should we do for now?" Arme shrugged, pulling her staff out of her bag on the ground to summon a few fireballs, a habit she had gotten into over the last few weeks. It was a waste of her mana, though it didn't really take out enough to matter. The trio watched the flames spiral and twist in the nearly non-existant breeze for a while, the magician allowing them to disperse when they ceased amusing her. Her head turned in the direction Lass had departed, watching quietly.

"Lass won't be back for a while~" Amy called in a sing-song voice, grinning widely. Arme flushed ever so slightly, hitting her over the head with her staff.

"I wasn't looking for him!" She retorted, turning her gaze back, "I was wondering how far away the castle we were going to was!" Jin looked over to follow her gaze. There was only grass for a long way, small shrubs covering the edge of the horizon.

"It's still a day and a half's journey, so it's only normal that you wouldn't see it yet. When you see it, you'll know... They say it was the old castle of Serdin before Gaikoz Castle, the Marsh of Oblivion and the Forsaken Barrows were infected with evil. I don't think that's true, but... " Jin shrugged, "You never know." Amy, rubbing her head where Arme had hit it, nodded. Arme was about to comment when a low rumble caught her attention. Attention focused back on the horizon, she waited anxiously. Amy and Jin seemed to have heard it too, they had both gone silent. Her hand tightened around the handle of her staff as a figure appeared, and she was nearly ready to stone curse whatever it was when she realized quite suddenly that it was Lass. The white haired assassin was approaching the group rapidly, closing the space between them in less than a minute. Eyes wide, Arme watched as the thief finally got to them.

"Lass, what's going on?" She asked, the rumbling growing louder. He didn't respond immedeately, instead going for his scimitar. When the blade was firmly in his grip, he turned to the others, looking around.

"Where's Ryan?" He demanded quickly, watching the dancer and fighter as he stood ever so slightly infront of Arme, in between her and the horizon.

"He's not back yet, but-"

"Then go get him, Amy! He shouldn't be far!" The pink haired girl nodded, the tone in Lass voice clearly indicating that there was no time for questions. Knowing she most likely wouldn't be getting any answers at that point, Arme began charging. It was the best course of action she could think of, seeing as the rumbling was getting louder and louder. Soon a large group of dark blotches were in sight, still too far away to properly make out, yet not far enough to be completely hidden.

"..." At this point Lass turned to Jin, who was watching confusedly.

"Get ready to fight, I'll explain what's going on when Amy and Ryan get back. Elesis and Ronan can't be expected back for about half an hour... We'll just have to hold out until then." Arme's face paled, Lass' voice completely serious as he handed out instructions. When he recieved a nod from Jin he finally turned back to Arme, a frown adorning his face. He glanced back to the line of whatever was approaching and then returned to looking at her, apparently not quite certain of what to say. He hesitated, finally reaching out to grab her arm and drag her further away from the enemies.

"Arme, **please** listen to me here. This battle is going to be **dangerous**. Stay as far away from the enemies as you can, and keep yourself protected." Arme nodded quietly, feeling her arm released when Lass deemed her far enough away.

"I got Ryan!" Amy's voice drew the attention of all the people standing around, and they turned to see the muse and Ryan running back over. Lass motioned them over, glaring at no one in particular.

"All right then, I'm going to be brief about this. From just what I've seen, It looks like there are enough dark magicians, skeletons, pumpkins and orc zombie warriors for them to have emptied out the entirety of the forsaken barrows. There are also some of the harpies from the Marsh, and I'm pretty sure there are a few of the swamp slime." Arme's eyes widened at the ammount, but Ryan scoffed.

"Is that all you're worried about, Lass? We fought a much larger horde of enemies when we were at the Kastulle's Ruins. If that's all-"

"It's not." Lass hissed, looking again at the horizon, "They have **three** Lich with them, and we're down three members from that point! They're moving at an extremely fast speed as well, considering what they are." At this there was a loud gasp from all the members of the group, Arme the only one confused.

"T-Three? Lass, are you-"

"Yes, I'm sure. Without Elesis and Ronan here, we're going to have one hell of a time trying to fight all three of them at once... Any plans?" He questioned. There was silence, everyone looking anxiously at the horde of approaching monsters. Ryan was the first one to make a move, stepping towards the large group.

"I say we go up to meet them, and try to keep them as far back as possible. We don't want them reaching the forest. If we can hold out until Elesis and Ronan get here it'll be a lot easier. We should also gang the Liches one by one... It's the best way I can think of to get them down." Lass nodded, preparing his scimitar.

"Let's go, then!" Arme watched as the group charged ahead, knowing better than to think the order was for her as well. _Lich..._ Arme set her thoughts on trying to find a monster different than what she had seen before, wishing she had asked Lass what a Lich was before he had left. She had never encountered a slime before either, but that seemed rather self-explanitory... The distance from which they were fighting made it difficult to identify much of anything, save the harpies that spiralled about in the air, circling the battle like vultures. She was charged nearly full, and was beginning to wonder if her meteor would even work from that distance. _I could get closer, but... _She quickly shook the thought away, remembering Lass' previous words. It wasn't so much the request itself, just... She had been easily able to hear the worry behind them. With a sigh she cast a saver around herself, then re-cast it to give the defense extra strength. Casting as many fire balls as she could at a given time, Arme sent them towards the horde of harpies. If there was a repeat of the Elven Forest battle... The harpies here seemed much more aware, most able to dodge the small balls of flame, those hit able to extinguish the fire before it could catch to the rest of their feathers.

The magician had to laugh quietly when she saw a piano appear, crashing down into the horde. If she watched closely she was able to identify the attacks of several chasers, mainly centering around the same enemy. She was still unable to identify it, but... The group was getting steadily closer. Every few seconds she was able to see the enemies with more clarity, moving closer and closer to her. She needed a few more minutes to be ready for a meteor; it seemed that was all she would be given. When they came within eyesight many of the zombie orcs began running, and Arme was able to see the true volume of their problem. She had been previously relating the ammount of enemies to the strength of the rumbling ground; she was only now beginning to realize over half of the enemies were floating or flying. Twirling her wand and holding it up, Arme prayed she would hit enough to lower the number of enemies.

"Meteor!" This cry earned the attention of all the others on the battlefield that weren't previously focused on her, including the interest of a large, ominous creature. With a white mask over it's face and a large brown cloak covering it's entire body, the enemy with a large staff reminded Arme immediately of one of the smaller dark magicians. She quickly counted the total number of them as meteors began raining down, totaling up to three. _So that's a Lich, then... _Teleporting further back to avoid the closest of the orcs, Arme watched the enemies. The only of them that seemed to be affected by the meteors at all were the harpies, most screeching loudly as the firey rocks smashed into their wings and bodies. several fell down onto the ground monsters though they were mostly ignored, save the harpies that tried to regain their balance by clawing into the orcs. This resulted in a small battle, though it ended quickly with the orcs as the victors.

Summoning more fire balls, Arme attempted to send them towards the large Lich that the other chasers seemed to be gathering towards, though they didn't do much. After two lit the edges of the robe on fire the rest were destroyed by a swing of the staff, the edges of the cloak icing over to prevent the flames from going further. The aura surrounding the Lich seemed palpable, causing Arme to shiver. Even outnumbered the monster seemed to have no problem attacking, the multiple nicks and cuts in the staff and cloak not seeming to deter him in the least. It's eyes were now locked on Arme, paying no heed to the other people around it. The purple magician took a step back as the monster began hovering towards her, lowering it's staff. A last second memory was the only thing that saved Arme from the electrocution that followed, the thought of the magician that had attacked Jin coming to her and reminding her of the long-distance capabilities of the monster. She teleported away just in time, looking with frustration at the enemies that were beginning to surround her.

"Reverse Gravity!" The monsters in the circle around her were lifted quickly into the air, though before they could fall Arme twisted her staff around, aiming it upwards and at them.

"Stone Curse!" The petite magician grinned as the enemies were encased in stone, dropping like deadweights to the ground. Their entire bodies shattered as they crashed down, forcing Arme to cover her eyes to prevent getting shards of the rock in them. She opened them again just in time to see Amy's violin being used to hit a hammer out of the way before it smacked straight into her face, the musician looking at her worriedly.

"Never shut your eyes like that in battle, Arme!" She yelled before rushing off again, headed towards the Lich they were still trying to get down. Arme gasped as it took a swing with it's staff, hitting Lass and sending him flying a few hastily teleported over to where the silver haired boy had landed, a hand hovering over his stomach as she applied a light heal. He looked up at her for a second, and his eyes widened. She hardly had time to think as he twisted, somehow managing to grab her and push them both out of the way of a rapidly approaching hammer. Arme instinctively grabbed onto his arm, teleporting them to a safer area on the battlefield. Her instincts had been right; there were several hammers following the first.

"Thanks!" She called after she was released by the assassin, recieving a nod as he returned to the battle. Biting her lip, Arme looked at the battle. The enemies she had taken out with reverse gravity didn't seem to have affected the numbers at all, and they were still attempting to crowd around her. Moving further out of the battle, Arme looked back at where the Lich was standing. There were several enemies surrounding it, and Arme aimed a lightning bolt as quickly as she could. A few inches off, all it did was out several enemies and give Jin a nasty surprise. He yelled something back that Arme couldn't hear, the magician simply shrugging as she continued fighting. The necromancer was beginning to look weaker, using it's staff as a stand to hold itself up before lifting it into the air. More orcs appeared from seemingly nowhere, and Arme groaned. Fireballs were the best she could do from that distance, and she sent as many as she could forward to assist in the battle.

***thunk* **

Arme's eyes widened as the Lich's staff slammed back into the ground, a slight cracking heard. She was hardly prepared for the hands that came up, discoloured and rotting with long fingernails that dug into her legs as she was heaved down onto her knees. The half-skirt on the back of her dress was also grabbed, rendering her nearly immobile. She held her staff up high to protect it from the hands, and was more than surprised to feel a cool, hard pressure twine around her wrists, holding them tightly together.

Dread filling the small magician, she looked up slowly to find herself looking into vibrant eyes of a bloody red, a white mask with symbols painted on it looking down at her from a tattered brown hood. The hand pinning her own in place was in fact made of bones, another skeleton hand to the left of her wielding a giant staff. _They have __**three**__ Lich with them! _... _There was more than one Lich... _Arme's face paled as the Lich standing behing her's aura surrounded her, making her struggle in vain. Her arms and legs were held too tightly to escape, and she doubted at that height the other chasers could even see her.

"Why does this always happen to me?" She groaned, voice fairly quiet. With a swift move, the staff held in the Lich's other hand slammed into her head. The impact made her vision fuzzy, and in the state of the headache she had been given all she could think of was how grateful she was that it hadn't hit her stomach.

The fingernails that were embedding themselves into her flesh slowly and reluctantly released her, the magician lifted up from the ground by her wrists. Sensing an opprotunity to get away, the half-unconscious Arme made a weak attempt to release herself from the necromancer's grasp. The Lich seemed somewhat displeased to realize the mage wasn't completely blacked out yet, though another swift blow to the head remedied it quickly.

* * *

"Nhhh..." Arme's head was heavily throbbing when she regained conciousness, senses dulled. She couldn't tell where she was, could hardly remember what she had been doing right before she had fallen asleep. _Fallen asleep...? _That didn't sound right... _Oh..! The Lich! _She slowly remembered being caught by the necromancer, the blow to her head that had knocked her unconcious. Heartbeat speeding up in fear, Arme's hand flew to the side of her head as she willed her eyes to open. They did ever so slowly, letting a bright blue sky enter her vision, obscured by several blotches of grey and green. _Where...? _

"Ahh! Lass~! **She's awake!**" Something stopped, and Arme quite suddenly came to the comprehension that she had been moving. That meant... Allowing her hand to move off the soft bandage she had felt on the side of her head, Arme reached out to the large blotch of greyish white. Her vision was clearing out, and she was almost able to make out the strands of hair before she touched them. Even so, she did. The white hair felt soft, and Arme smiled drowsily.

"Lassie~" She stated lazily, tugging on his hair gently. It was something she was certain would have annoyed him at any other given time, but for a reason she wasn't certain of, she knew he wouldn't get mad at her. The rest of the chase was slowly filing into her vision, and she waved to them with as much enthusiasm as she could.

"W-What happened?" She mumbled quietly, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to clear her vision a bit better. It worked partially, and soon her eyes adjusted to the bright lights. Lass set her down so she was sitting, the blanket that she hadn't realized was draped over her falling underneath her. Lass was evidently uncertain on how well she could hold herself up; he stayed behind her as a prop even when she was sitting. She noted dully that Elesis and Ronan were back, and turned to Elesis seeking an explanation. It was Amy, however, that began.

"Well, it wasn't a very nice surprise for us when we noticed you in battle being carried away by a Lich~" She started, Jin decidedly continuing after her.

"We were looking for you after the first Lich was nearly defeated, and we realized that one of the other Liches were moving away from the battle field. Lass went to check it out and found out that it was carrying you... Needless to say, we tried to get you back. It was difficult, and the damn Lich was pretty determined not to let you go... If Ronan and Elesis hadn't shown up then, I'm not sure how that would have gone. Having the force of a dragon on your team makes fighting hordes a fair lot easier." He explained, looking over at the two knights.

"We came back about five minutes after you were knocked unconscious. After fighting the Lich and getting you back Ronan took you up in the air on the dragon so we wouldn't have to deal with any more possible mage-thefts. After the harpies were dealt with it was easy enough..." Elesis said cautiously, kneeling down to look at Arme on eye-level, "But are you alright? From what I've seen, the Lich hit you pretty hard." Wincing as she touched the bandage on her head, Arme nodded.

"Y-yeah... How long have I been out for?"

"A bit more than a day. The Lich cast some sort of sleeping spell on you after you were knocked out... Between myself and Amy we were able to undo most of it, but it still lasted for a day. Judging by the initial strength of the spell, I'd say it wanted to take you somewhere pretty far away." Eyes down, Arme nodded at Ronan's words.

"Sorry about that..." She murmured softly, a sigh erupting from her throat. She felt a hand on her head, and looked over to see Lass.

"It wasn't your fault... Something wierd's going on." Everyone else nodded in agreement, and Lass pointed forward. Confused for a second, Arme's eyes followed the direction he was pointing. When they finally located what he was pointing at she gasped, eyes going wide as she stared at the large wreckage of a castle a few miles ahead. The large towers that Arme could only imagine had been grand long ago were now strewn along the ground, large chunks of the castle everywhere. Ivy had grown along the sides, giving it an ancient appearance. Excited to see how it looked inside, Arme shot up. This was apparently a bad idea for her headache, her vision spinning. She would have fallen had Lass not been behind her, catching her before she could fall to the ground.

"Be careful, would you? You're already injured enough right now." Arme nodded sombrely, leaning back to look up at him. She reached her hand up to tug on a strand of his bangs idly, still feeling somewhat tired.

"Sorry..." She said, the meaning settling in with the assassin a second later. He chuckled quietly, picking her up.

"I'll have to admit I was a bit less than happy when I found out the Lich was carrying you, but... You're a danger magnet, I suppose you can't help it. And, despite my thinking that it was against your best interests, you got to ride the dragon, so... " In her drowsy state Arme seemed to find this amusing, and she began laughing quietly until fatigue took over. All thoughts of exploring the castle were forgotten as she rested her head on Lass' chest carefully, falling asleep again moments later.

* * *

A/N: Whootz, done :D I was completely at a loss for how to start this chapter until I remembered a certain review I got~ The beginning piece is for AmytheDancer :3 Two more exams and school is over! You can expect more updates from me~

-Utsuro


	16. Time of Rest

A/N: Yay! A oneshot done this week, AND the chapter on time? If I actually get this done, I'm gonna be proud of myself. ;3

Disclaimer: I will own Grand Chase the day someone walks up to me and hands me the rights to them. (It hasn't happened yet, but I can keep hoping, right? xD)

Chapter... Wait, what chapter is this again? o_o... 15? That sounds right... *checks* Yup! Chapter 15 :D

Chapter 15: Time of Rest

* * *

Arme was awoken yet again as she was placed down on a soft surface, eyes opening to see the rest of the chasers. It was obvious that they were now inside the castle, in a room with a circle of various chairs, sofas and couches. She had been placed on on of the couches, Lass sitting down at the end where there was room. Sitting to the left of him was Ryan, next to Elesis and Ronan. Amy and Jin stood next to the pair of knights, the closest to Arme's right. Everyone was looking at Elesis, and Arme remembered vaguely that they were to be given instructions when they reached the castle. Looking grateful for everyone's attention, Elesis took a deep breath before starting.

"Alright, then. The places that desperately need to be checked from here are the Forsaken Barrows, the Marsh of Oblivion, and Gaikoz Castle. It would make most sense to give Jin and Ryan the task of checking Gaikoz Castle, if they go there and clear out the area they can stay at the castle until they've collected all of their shards. Forsaken Barrows is the next most pressing issue, seeing as we were attacked by more monsters than should have been in there in the first place... Ronan and I will go check that out. That leaves Lass and Amy to go check out the Marsh of Oblivion. Sound good?" She looked around at the others to see if there were any problems, her eyes stopping at Lass.

"Yes?" The assassin sighed.

"Elesis, there's kind of a big flaw in your plan. If we do that, Arme is going to be left alone in the castle. Seeing as she's a bit too..." Lass paused for a second, "Dangerous to herself to be left alone here, I'm thinking that's a bit of a really bad idea. Not to mention the fact that this place doesn't have a fridge. She'd have to go out hunting every day, and I'm pretty sure we'd come back to a starved magician." Elesis blinked, her eyebrows raised as though she hadn't realized that part of the plan.

"I could leave my gon here with her?" Ronan suggested, getting a look from the rest of the group that clearly said _'you have got to be kidding me'_. The gon also whined in protest, burying it's head into Ronan's hair as it often did and clawing more tightly than usual into his shoulder. Petting it's back absentmindedly, Ronan looked back at the red haired knight.

"What would you suggest, then?" Frowning thougtfully, Elesis looked around at the others.

"Hmm... We'll have to shuffle some people. Lass, I'm assuming you're the most adept at keeping Arme out of trouble, so you'll stay here. Amy will come with us, I doubt it'll take an entire month to scout out the Forsaken Barrows. When we finish there we'll take a stop back here, and then we'll use the remainder of the month to head over to where the Marsh is and check that out. That should give Arme a bit higher level of security, I'm sure." She explained, looking at the silver haired boy. Lass nodded, looking over at Arme. The magician also nodded in agreement with the plan, the other members of the group following suit.

"So we'll stay here for a day to rest up, and then we'll set off tomorrow." Amy nodded hyperly, raising her hand in the air and waving it around to get the knight's attention, "... Yes, Amy?"

"Ohh! Can I cook today?" She asked energetically, looking hopefully at Elesis. The red head in question seemed somewhat hesitant to hand over her last assured good meal for the rest of the month to the dancer, but in the end she acquiesced. With a stretch she looked at the others, standing up.

"The supply of food we had from that Mongban Ronan and I found ran out, so it's up to you to find something to cook. As for me, I think I'm going to go catch a nap. I could use a decent sleep in a good bed." Ronan nodded, picking up his glave.

"I'm assuming Amy will need some help with hunting? I have some energy, so I might as well help." Jin stood up as well, watching as Amy followed.

"I think I'll come too." The muse clapped her hands, giving a quiet cheer.

"Yay~! Let's go!" Seeming extremely excited to get cooking, the girl nearly flew out the wooden door. Soon after the two males followed, breathing a sigh at the energy levels of the muse. This left only Ryan, Lass and Arme in the room, all three sitting silently and looking at each other. The magician was the first to stand, rubbing her eyes tiredly as she moved. Lass watched her cautiously as she made her way to the door, turning back to the two at the last second.

"I'm gonna go explore for a little while, kay?" She smiled, making a slight wave. Lass looked at her for a second as though he was going to stand up, yet in the end he didn't move.

"Sit down if you get tired... We don't know what exactly that Lich's spell did to you, so it might still be hovering around. There's a chance you'll get tired, so... Be careful. And keep in mind that since this place is old, there might be some holes in the floor. Just... Try to avoid those, alright?" Arme nodded at the instructions, eager to get out of the room and look around. She left as soon as it seemed Lass had nothing to add, marvelling in the size of the hallway outside. To her right was an immediate staircase downstairs, so Arme tuned to the left to check out more of the floor she was currently on. Like the silver haired boy had warned her of, several chunks of both the floor and walls were missing, allowing her a peek into several rooms as she walked by them. The first that really piqued her interest was a study, and she wandered into it cautiously. There were three large shelves, and the magician went to the first slowly. It was aging and musty, easily several hundred years old. The chances that it could fall over on her were high, yet even so she took her chances and eased a book out of the shelf. Flipping it open, Arme nearly gasped.

"It's... English!" She said out loud, marvelling in the writing even though no one was around to hear. _It's called Old Bermesian now, but all the word orders are the same. Someone just decided to change all the letters a while ago, so... _

"Ah!" She remembered with a grin Amy's explanation on the languages, and she flipped through the book with a sigh of relief. _Something I can read properly! Finally!_ She hadn't actually expected seeing her own language's writing would be so much of a reprieve, but she felt much more comfortable than she had in weeks when she slid several of the books from the shelf onto the table. She had read often in the hospital, and it was something that she remembered as a calming past time. _This should help a lot... _She frowned as she realized that she wouldn't be able to read up on the current battle with Kaze'Aze, It being too recent to have been documented in her language. What she could do, however, would be to read up more on magic, and the world in general. It was a nice thought that she was being given a chance to catch up on the fifteen years she hadn't lived there.

When the short girl had piled up all of the books she wanted on the table from the first shelf (disregarding the higher shelves she was unable to get to without pulling some stunts she was certain Lass wouldn't be appreciative of), Arme turned to the second shelf. Even though the shelf itself was just as ancient, the contents in it seemed a bit more recent. It was still in Old Bermesian, so Arme gratefully piled up several of the books from that shelf too before moving on. It was at the third shelf that she began getting confused. This was, she assumed, where the New Bermesian form of writing had began to come into play. Letters were mostly Old Bermesian, though she could see the evolution of them as she went on. Book by book, they were slowly getting more compressed, having new symbols added to them, and having lines moved around until by the end of the bookshelf Arme could only understand what she had learned of the new language. Frowning, Arme still picked up some of the books dealing with magic. _I guess I'll read them when I finish the others... _Taking a glance towards the last book shelf, the magician knew without looking that they would all be in Bermesian. She pulled some of them out even so, sighing. _I'll have to get used to the language some time... _Three books stacked into a pile in her hands, Arme turned to the desk with look of mystification. There were roughly twenty books piled up on the small rickety desk, and the thing looked like it could hardly stand anymore. _The problem is, _she mused, _how to get these to my room. Where is my room, even? _She sighed yet again as she placed the last three on the writing table, eyes widening at a small creek that came from the legs of it.

This small creek was naturally followed by several louder creaks, ending up in Arme staring as the entire desk collapsed in front of her with a large thunk. The books had added additional noise to the fall, thudding noisily and heavily on the floor around her. _Well... This is just great. _She bit her lip, a hand running through her hair as she tried to come up with a reasoning for her breaking a desk potentially worth thousands of dollars for it's age. She stood there contemplating for about a minute before the door was flung open and Lass barged in, looking at her as though he had expected something slightly more life-threatening to have been going on. He stared at the broken desk and back to the magician, repeating the action several times before closing his eyes and rubbing his temples.

"Arme?"

"...Yes?" Arme smiled embarrasedly, eyes down to the ground.

"Did you just stick a large stack of rather thick books on a desk that appeared to be near breaking down without anything on it?" He questioned slowly, as though he wasn't really expecting an answer. Arme scratched the back of her head timidly, looking up at the blue eyed boy.

"Sort of...? It didn't look **that **frail!" She protested, defending herself weakly. Lass sighed and smiled, shaking his head disbelievingly.

"Well... It could have been worse, I guess. Did you find all the books you wanted?" Arme nodded, not quite in the mood to ask for any of the higher up books. Instead she kneeled down and began picking up the fallen ones, setting them in a pile next to her on the floor as she collected too many to carry. When she looked over she was surprised to notice Lass helping too, picking up the stack she had been piling. In the end she had only five books to carry, and had to watch as the assassin somehow managed to balance 18 rather thick looking volumes.

"Do you know where your room is yet?" He questioned as they made their way towards the door, watching Arme out of the corner of his eye. The magician shook her head, allowing Lass to lead the way. He seemed to have a good understanding of the layout of the castle, and they made it to a large door without problems, Arme pulling it open to help the assassin inside. When she followed him in the short girl gaped at her surroundings, a rather large room with a double bed and two large windows on either side; one was crumbling, yet still maintained it's shape well enough and kept the glass pane in place . A beige, aged armoire stood to one side, though it still seemed in a rather decent condition. There was also another door that she could only assume lead to the bathroom, and a fireplace to the side of that door. Two large bookshelves stood to the right of the bed and the window, nearly empty. This was where Lass began to deposit the oversized stack of books, setting them on a high shelf. He then looked back at Arme, and as though on a second though, began to move them to lower shelves.

"Hey! I'm not that short!" Arme huffed, cheeks red as she placed her five books on the second bookshelf. Lass rolled his eyes, placing one back on the top shelf with a smirk.

"Alright, then. If you say so." She gaped as he walked away, sitting on the edge of the bed where he could still watch her, "Can you get that book, then?" This was where it was the magician's turn to grin, watching as his cocky expression changed, confusion taking over.

"Of course I can, Lassie!" With a simple determination Arme began pulling books off the shelf, piling them on the ground. Lass stared for a moment, as though disbelieving that the girl would actually use the rickety stack as a foothold. His belief was proven wrong, and the magician stepped onto the pile cautiously. It was at this point that the assassin began standing back up, eyes wide as Arme made a small jump from the stack of books to the bookshelf itself. Grabbing onto the shelves, she hung precariously off the higher shelf as she gained a new foothold on one of the lower shelves. She snagged the book successfully, her grin widening as she reached back with her foot to find the stack of books. When her left was securely on them Arme pulled back her right, and she had nearly set it down when the entire stack toppled forward.

"Ahh!" Arme gave a short scream as she fell back, though she knew full well she wouldn't hit the ground. As predicted, before her back could connect with the stone floor Lass had grabbed her, lifting her up cautiously and staring at her cynically.

"Got it!" She smiled, placing the thick text in his free hand. The silver haired boy took it amusedly, setting her down on the bed and placing the book on the nightstand.

"Just so we have this clear, you only do things like this when I'm around to worry me, right?" He questioned with a small smile. Arme shrugged.

"Well, I don't do it **just **to worry you! That happens to be a side-effect!" The assassin smirked as he picked up the books from the floor to set them back on the bookshelf, "Mmhmm. Of course you don't." When all the books were back in place he stood up, stretching.

"Now you should probably just stay in here until dinner. After all, you'll have a full month to explore." Arme shook her head, attempting to stand back up. It was then that her stomach decided to act up again, a simple, sharp pain that forced her to fall back onto the bed. Her hand pressed over it as lightly as she could in an attempt to lessen the pain, and she could see Lass walking closer.

"I'll rephrase that," He said as he picked her up lightly, setting her down on the bed again so her head was on the pillow, "I'm demanding that you stay here until dinner." The pillow was surprisingly soft for it's age, and Arme could feel herself getting drowsy again as he pulled the blankets out from under her to set them down lightly over her. When the magician looked to tired to move Lass took his leave, allowing her to lay there in silence and stare at the ceiling. _Whatever that magician cast on me, it's getting annoying... _She thought irritatedly, her eyelids too heavy to keep open. She glanced over at the book on her nightstand, but didn't bother to reach out and pick it up. If she was supposed to actually be learning from it... There was no way she would remember anything the next morning from that energy level. Her eyes lazily peered around the room to search for a for a source of amusement as her eyelids closed slowly, Arme sighed. _Instead of looking for something to keep you awake, perhaps you could actually do what Lass told you to? There's a novelty idea! _Her stomach was aching, and the idea of a reprieve in sleep finally overtook her, pulling her heavy eyelids shut and lulling her into sleep.

* * *

"Arme? Dinner's ready."

"Nnhh... Hm?" Arme woke lazily, opening her eyes to see Jin standing next to the bed, "Amy sent me to come get you." Arme nodded, a light pain in the bite wound as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. Jin watched her worriedly as she managed to stand up, grabbing one of her arms and placing it over his shoulder to act as a support when she appeared that she was about to fall. This didn't work very well, the height difference resulting on Arme's left foot being up off the ground and her right only touching by the toes.

"Hmm... Piggy-back?" He suggested, kneeling down. Arme was too used to being carried by that point to bother protesting, so she gratefully accepted the help. Looking around the room before they left, she noted briefly that the fighter had left her bag on the ground near the armoire.

"You should tell Amy that your injury's bothering you, she might have something for it." He mentioned briefly, walking out of the room slowly as though afraid to drop the magician. Arme nodded, looking around the halls when they left her room. Speech could be heard from a fair distance away, and Arme could only guess that it was the people in the dining hall... Seeing as she was on the third floor at the very lowest, Arme decided this was probably normal. The speech got a bit louder as Jin made his way cautiously down a staircase, Arme guessing that he wasn't all that used to carrying another person.

"Sorry about this..." Arme apologized quietly, looking around. The fighter shook his head.

"It's no problem, I carry Amy all the time. It's just a bit more daunting knowing Lass would probably murder me if I dropped you or anything bad happened." Arme's cheeks quickly burned to a cherry-red hue, an embarrassed frown on her face.

"Why does everyone say that?" She complained lightly, hitting Jin on the head lightly in a manner she was sure wouldn't actually hurt him. The fighter shrugged, a grin on his face.

"Because it's true?" The magician had no comeback to that, and all she could do was avert her eyes from the red head's seemingly knowing grin. There was a quiet laugh at her somewhat childish behaviour, but even so Arme refused to look at him again throughout the small walk to the dining room. She was simply praying the flush would be gone from her face by the time she arrived at the table, knowing there was a highly likely chance Amy would tease her if it wasn't. Fortunately enough for the magician it seemed to be mostly gone when she was let down, her face seeming much less warm as she was set in a chair. Most of the Grand Chase was already there, excluding Amy herself. Arme was personally seated next to Lass (she was well aware Jin had done that on purpose) and Elesis, the knight looking rather impatient for a meal.

"Arme's here, Amy!" Jin called out, taking his seat next to Ryan and an empty chair as a loud clap was heard from the next room.

"Finally~!" Arme was certain her jaw wasn't the only one that dropped when Amy came out, somehow balancing more plates of food than should have been possible. The assortment almost reminded Arme of the near-buffet she had made the first day she was in the Grand Chase's house, though created with several less ingredients. The dancer placed each plate on the table cautiously, and Arme noticed with amusement that all of them had been placed on the side of the table where Elesis wasn't sitting. The knight had apparently also noticed this, and even as Amy began speaking she was pulling on the sleeve of Ronan (who was on the other side of her) and asking him to bring over some of the plates.

"I hope you like it!" Amy blushed, a pale green apron still tied around her waist. Taking her seat next to Jin and Ronan, Amy clapped her hands again, "Let's eat!" Elesis easily complied with this instruction, reaching for the plate that Ronan had pulled over for her. It seemed to be filled with harpy meat, and Arme hastily grabbed her own piece. The chances that there would be much left when Elesis was done with it...

Arme gaped as Elesis dumped the whole platter onto her plate, and then followed up by reaching over to Arme's plate and taking her piece of harpie meat without so much as a glance.

"Elesis!" She frowned, reaching over to recollect her piece. The knight glared, pulling her plate protectively over to the side and away from Arme. What she wasn't expecting, however, was for the indigo knight on her other side to snatch two pieces from her plate.

"Elesis, don't be a pig." He scolded as he placed Arme's piece back on her plate, tossing one to Lass after, "Everyone else needs to eat too."

"But Ronannnn! I **like **harpie meat!" She moaned, looking at him pleadingly. The spell knight sighed, grabbing a small amount of some sort of soup as it was passed around, "You can have my portion, then."

"Yay!" Arme laughed quietly, passing down the plate with the rest of the harpie meat Ronan had forced the red knight to put back. Taking a bite of her own piece, Arme's eyes widened.

"Amy, this is really good!" She called, recieving a smile from the muse.

"Of course~ You taught me, after all!" The magician blushed at the compliment, picking up some more food from the plates as they were moved along. Looking around the table, Arme realized confusedly that the only one not really eating was Ryan, absentmindedly stirring a bowl of soup as he stared at Amy. The dancer didn't seem to notice his gaze at all, and Arme watched as it wavered from one of resentment to a much more... soft gaze, almost caring. She watched for a moment until the druid noticed her stare, turning back to glare down at his soup as though it had done something wrong.

"Arme? You might want to get eating, unless you want your whole plate to go missing." Lass mentioned idly, bringing Arme out of her curiosity and back to the meal. She down at her plate just in time to realize Elesis was stealing from it again, the serving dishes apparently empty. She glanced over at the female knight and almost laughed as she realized the spearman was also taking from Ronan's plate, the dragon knight having given up on stopping her. Quickly eating the rest of what was on her plate before Elesis could get to it, Arme was about to stand up when Amy shot out of her seat.

"Don't go yet!" She called as she rushed back into what Arme could only assume was the kitchen. Returning a few moments later with a large platter, the group watched as she set it on the table and elloquently pulled off the lid.

"Blueberry cheesecake!" Jin was surprisingly the first one to say anything, his hands nearly on the cake when Amy shooed them away.

"I'll cut it~" She said with a blush, handing the first piece to Jin, who looked like he was about to explode from happiness.

"Where'd you get the ingredients, Amy? Arme questioned as she was handed her slice, the dancer shrugging,

"My bag~" Having grown used to the oddities of said bag, Arme didn't bother to ask anything else. They all ate their desert quietly save Jin, who was lavishing complements on the muse. By the time they had finished with the meal Amy's whole face was a dark pink, near matching her hair. Arme stood up with her plate, picking up the plates for those around her (not including Elesis, who was still demanding seconds). As she walked to the kitchen Lass stood up to follow, the assassin following her as though worried she would fall. His worries weren't wrong; nearly as soon as the plates had been put on the counter of the large kitchen small pricks of pain began entering her stomach. She was still able to stand when the white haired boy picked her up, though frustration wouldn't allow her to protest.

"Why does this have to keep bothering me like this, half of the time letting me walk and the other half not? Can't it just choose one or the other?" She complained quietly as they entered the dining room again, looking for Amy. The dancer was watching her worriedly, and she stood up to join the pair.

"Can you bring her to her room please, Lass? I want to do another check up on her stomach before we go." The thief nodded, heading up the stairs hastily as Amy followed. When they made it to her room the magician was set gingerly on the bed again, and Amy turned to look at Lass.

"I'll call you back in when we're done, alright?" She stated, waving him out. Hesitating for a moment, the blue eyed boy nodded and walked out of the room to leave the two girls. When he was gone Amy looked at Arme's attire, frowing.

"Can you change into your pajamas? This'll be a bit difficult to do in a one-piece outfit." Arme nodded, accepting her bag when Amy brought it over from on the floor. While the magician was searching through for her night clothes Amy took the time to look around her room, opening the door that Arme had noted earlier.

"Ohh! You have a bathroom?" She gaped, looking at the small, amethyst-eyed girl. Arme shrugged, "I guess so." Sticking her head back inside the bathroom, Amy turned to her.

"Mind if I take a bath while you get changed?" She asked excitedly. Arme nodded, and before anything else could be said the dancer shot out the door. She returned not even a minute later with her own bag, making a beeline for the bathroom. Arme laughed lightly, and then grinned as she found her pjs. Putting them on took a fair bit of effort from the girl, yet she finally managed to get them on despite the aching in her stomach. Resolving to wait until Amy finished her bath to even look at the injury. Instead she picked up the book from the nightstand that had been placed there a few hours prior.

"Sieghart the Immortal?" She looked at the cover curiously, opening to the first page where a rather accurate sketch of a black haired man was. _Surely there's no such thing as an immortal, right? _Even with that doubt, Arme began reading the first chapter.

It was several minutes later that Arme heard the door to the bathroom creak open, and she quickly memorized her page before setting it back down on the nightstand. Amy was still shaking her hair of water droplets when she approached the magician, looking at the book with interest.

"Oh! You're reading up on Sieggy?" She questioned as she set her gigantic bag on the bed, pulling out a small medical kit. Arme nodded, tilting her head curiously.

"Yeah... Why?" Amy looked up at her as she lifted the hem of the shirt to look at the wound.

"Knowing about him is pretty manditory~ Almost everyone does. What few people know, however, is that he shares a name with Elesis' grandfather~" Arme's eyes widened, though Amy wasn't certain whether it was the fact about Elesis or the dark purple bruise blossoming around the injury.

"So they're related? Does saving Bermesiah come in the blood or something?" She questioned, watching the dancer pull out a tube of some form of cream. Spreading a small amount of it gingerly over the thin skin where red was still prominent below, Amy shrugged.

"I personally doubt that they're related, but... I guess you never know~" Amy said, putting the cream away. Arme looked at her curiously.

"You doubt it? Why?" The mage asked as the dancer pulled out a vial of liquid. She handed it to Arme as she continued looking through the bag, a small smile on her face.

"Drink that. And I guess it's just a hunch, really." Amy continued shifting the contents of the bag, and Arme drank the vial's liquid hesitantly. That sent her into a coughing fit, a hand over the bit in a useless attempt to stop it from hurting when she did.

"A-Amy, that tasted terrible! What was that?" She demanded, dearly wishing she had a glass of water with her. Amy seemed to hear her unspoken request, fishing through her bag to pull out a bottle of water as she explained.

"It was a potion, specifically designed for that wound. It'll help it heal a lot faster... Here they are!" The last part was exclaimed happily, and Arme paled as she realized the dancer had just located dozens of other vials looking nearly the same. She chugged down half of the water in the bottle before looking at the pink haired girl disbelievingly.

"And those are..." Amy rolled her eyes.

"More of the same potion, obviously! They'll taste better if you mix them with something, but you need to take one each day until Elesis, Ronan and I get back from the Forsaken Barrows. I'll give them to you, but you **can't **forget to take them... Wait, I have a better idea! **Lass, you can come in now!**" She called, Arme hastily covering up the wound as the door slid open. The muse motioned him over to the bed, showing him the large group of vials.

"Arme needs to take one of these a day, kay? Otherwise her wound is liable to get worse." Lass nodded at the instructions, and Arme gulped. _There's no getting out of drinking them now..._ With a sigh the magician nodded, looking out at the darkening sky with a frown. There wouldn't be much reading that night unless she read by fireball light...

"And you need to apply this cream to the bite every day too!" Amy continued, bringing Arme's attention back to the conversation as the small white tube used before on the wound was handed to Lass.

"W-What? I can do that myself!" The magician protested, a blush covering her face as she reached for the white tube. The assassin raised his eyebrows and looked at her amusedly, but didn't hand it over. He instead turned back to the dancer, slipping it inside his pocket.

"Anything else?" Thinking for a second, Amy nodded.

"I know she was walking around today, but until her wound fully heals she's going to need to be on bedrest. I mean... She should be fine with walking to the washroom on her own and all that, but until it's all better I'd like to see her staying inside this room. That'll speed up the recovery process~ And... Make sure she has proper food each day, her body needs things to work with if it's going to be healing something that bad. Also, no magic! Mana in the system speeds up a person's natural rate of healing, which means there's no point in her wasting hers." Nodding again, Lass turned towards the door.

"If that's all, I have some things that need to be seen to..." He gave a light wave as he exited, Amy grinning.

"Well, that should make sure you get properly taken care of while I'm away~! I'm going to stick the vials in in your armoire along with your bag, alright?" Arme nodded, and the dancer came back to grab her bag.

"Get some good sleep today, alright?" She said, and she was almost out of the room when Arme stopped her.

"Wait! Amy... Why was Ryan staring at you at dinner today?" She questioned, waiting curiously for an answer. Amy put a finger to her lips, looking down thoughtfully.

"Oh! I know why..." Turning back to Arme, Amy motioned vaguely to her outfit, "It's the apron. It was Lire's... She used to cook for all of us. Well... Not Jin because she never met him, but that's beside the point."

"Ah..." Arme sighed as the dancer left, wondering (not for the first time), what Ryan had been like when Lire had been around.

* * *

Loud footsteps woke Arme up the next morning, her door being flung open as footsteps rapidly approached her bed. Soon a weight was flung onto her bed, and Arme opened her eyes in surprise. Amy was lying there, a wide grin on her face.

"We're leaving now~! Thought you might wanna come say goodbye!" Arme nodded, not choosing to add that she probably would have preferred a few hour's sleep more. Her wound didn't protest nearly as much as it had the previous day as she lazily got up, following the hyper muse down the staircase. When they managed to make it to the first floor (With Arme noting quietly that her room was on the fourth), everyone was waiting in the hall.

"Did you get what you needed to ge- Damn it, Amy, I told you not to wake her up." Lass sighed, frowning at Amy. The dancer grinned and shrugged, rocking back and forth innocently on her heels. She then turned back to Arme, leaning over so she was near the girl's ear.

"Are you sure you don't want Ronan's gon? It might provide more conversation than Lass~" She giggled, bouncing off to where the rest of the group was. The next thing she did was launch herself at Jin, hugging him tightly as her feet dragged on the ground.

"Imma miss you~!" She exclaimed, kissing him on the cheek before letting him go and grabbing his hands to spin in little circles with the by then terribly blushing fighter. Arme watched the scene with amusement, turning to Lass.

"Did someone give Amy too much sugar or something?" She questioned, the silver haired boy looking back at her and sighing.

"She made eggs for breakfast. I can't see how that could be too bad, if it weren't for..." Lass' eyes widened as he looked around at the others.

"Does anyone remember... There being a full jar of coffee on the counter?" He asked slowly. Faces paling, Ronan and Elesis nodded. The assassin left the group and headed up the staircase, returning a few minutes later.

"That jar is now officially empty." He reported grimly, looking at the pair of knights, "Good luck." They shared a glance before nodding, Ronan grabbing Amy's arm.

"We'll be going now, and we should return in under two weeks." He stated, dragging the muse along as the first three left. Jin and Ryan left a few minutes later with a light wave, not saying much other than a "Bye." This left the thief and the magician in the front hallway.

"Well, since you're up now you might as well get some breakfast." He said, picking her up. Blushing for what felt like the dozenth time in the last few days, Arme tried to push him away.

"I'm perfectly capable of walking myself, Lass!" She stated, though even so she wasn't put down.

"I know you are, but that's only until your bad luck ends up with you tripping up the staircase and killing yourself." He reminded her, Arme unable to retort due to the sad knowledge that it was a possibility. When they reached the dining room she was set down next to the table, free to choose her own seat as Lass wandered into the kitchen to find the food. He returned a moment later with a plate that she assumed had been left on the counter for her, the contents still fairly warm. The meal felt more quiet than she would have liked, and she finished quickly. Lass had been standing off to the side, prepared to pick up her plate and her right when she was done. As he placed the dish back in the kitchen Arme was grateful her face didn't turn red again, having been expecting it more than she had been previously. She allowed herself to be carried back up to her room hastily, sighing as she was placed back on the bed. She no longer felt like sleeping. Reading would have been her alternative, yet the dark sky outside didn't allow that. Her first thought was to light a fireball to read, but with Lass in the room that was quite obviously out of the question. The next thought that crossed her mind was the fire place, and she almost laughed as she glanced at it. Lass, following her gaze, shrugged.

"Do you want to light the fireplace?" He asked quietly, receiving a shy nod from the magician. Lifting her up again, he set her in the large chair infront of the fireplace before running his hand along the mantle. When he had nearly reached the end he found what he had been looking for; a box of matches. With the logs left by the hearth it was easy enough to start a fire, and the thief walked back over to the bed. He picked up her book and tossed it to her before lying back on the soft covers, watching her out of the corner of his eye. Just barely catching it before the book was cast into the flames, Arme would have called out some sort of reprimand if the assassin didn't look so peaceful at that point. Instead she eased back into the chair, flipping the book open as she noted that she really needed to find a book mark somewhere.

The crackle of the fire and the stars outside made for a comforting atmosphere, and Arme had only read a chapter before she began to feel tired, roughly half an hour having passed. She closed the book sleepily, holding it to her chest as she stood up. _Hm? Lass hasn't tried to stop me from walking on my own yet? _Surprised, the magician turned to the bed. What she saw there almost made her gasp, cheeks reddening again as she noticed that Lass had fallen asleep. Walking over as quietly as she could, Arme set the book down before sitting on the bed. _He looks so cute! _She smiled softly, a hand placed on his hair for a second before she pulled it back to her side, lying down cautiously. _Might as well not wake him up... _Her eyes closed as she curled up, the reddish light of the morning sun peering hazily at the two sleeping teens through the window.

* * *

A/N: Did I plan to end the chapter there originally? You can bet I didn't xD Was that scene even in the original plan for this chapter? No, no it was not~ That's not the important part, though :3 Sorry, this chapter was a bit boring ^^; But yay! I'll actually have this done on time and posted!  
-Utsuro


	17. Mishaps at the Castle

A/N: This chapter's dedicated to Mitsukai Kanashimi, happy birthday! She's an amazing inspiration and role model to me as an author, so I'd like to thank her :3 And a YAY for over 100,000 words in this story~! (Last chapter was at 99,664 xD;;) ROAR, SPELL CHECK! D8 Armoire is a word!

Disclaimer: Unless you count my dreams, I don't own Grand Chase or their wonderful rainbow-coloured characters.

Chapter 16: Mishaps at the Castle

* * *

Armewoke much later to the sound of the bed softly creaking, light streaming in through her closed eyelids. After a second she sat up lazily, opening her eyelids a crack. What she saw made her tilt her head in confusion; Lass was sitting up, much like herself, but he was white as a sheet, eyes wide as he stared at her. Rubbing her eyes so she could focus on him properly, the magician gave a small stretch.

"Lass? Are you alright?" She questioned a few minutes later' when the assassin didn't explain. He was silent for a moment longer, eyes closing slowly.

"I... fell asleep." He murmured quietly, standing up and off the bed. Arme nodded in confirmation, her stare now slightly concerned.

"Yeah... So?" She turned to the window, where the sun had risen a fair amount, "It looks like it's only been about three hours, maybe four." The news didn't seem to lift his spirits in the least, and he opened his eyes again to stare at her.

"I... Are you alright?" He questioned, looking her over.

"Mmhmm... Why wouldn't I be?" At this question he avoided her gaze, instead looking towards the window.

"I fell asleep..." He murmured again, almost subconsciously. Hazarding one more glance towards the magician, Lass turned to the door. Arme shrugged.

"Lass... You might not like sleeping in front of people, but it's not a crime or anything." She mentioned gently, realizing that it was a bigger deal than she had initially thought. The assassin looked down at the ground, a frown on his face that was hardly visible from Arme's angle.

"I know that, Arme..." He muttered, "I just..." He took another step to the door, his face still not having returned to it's normal colour as he grasped the door's handle.

"Just...?" She prompted the cut off sentence quietly, almost getting up to follow him. His silvery white hair swayed lightly as he shook his head, pushing the door open.

"Nothing. I'm sorry I woke you up." He said, an emotion in his voice that was unidentifiable as he stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind him quietly. Arme's hands gripped the sheets tightly as she stared at the door, more shaken up by the quiet sound of footsteps padding down the hallway than anything. For Lass to be so out of it to not care enough to silence his footsteps, something must have been wrong; worse than she had imagined.

Leaning back on the covers, Arme rested the back of her hand against her eyes as she waited for her anxiety to go away. It didn't entirely, but in a few minutes she was calm enough to think through the situation. _What could be so wrong with him sleeping? I mean... It's not like it was for very long... _She thought over all the facts quietly, only one standing out to her. _Perhaps... Is it because no one else is here? I suppose if some monsters had shown up while we were sleeping that kind of would have sucked, but... Why was he worried about whether or not I was alright when there were clearly no monsters around? Because he fell asleep while I was still awake? That doesn't really make sense... _She sat up frustratedly, glaring at the door. _Even if I go after him he's obviously not going to tell me what's wrong... Could I even find him in here? It's at least a four story building._ Getting him to come to her would be as simple as tripping down a staircase, but she assumed if she did that he would be in even less a mood to tell her what was going on. With a frown she glared out the window.

"What should I do, then?" She wondered aloud, sighing. The window, of course, didn't answer. She finally resigned herself to sitting back on the bed, pulling the book off her nightstand. She didn't feel very interested as she flipped through to her spot, more than concerned for the assassin as she tried to focus on the words in front of her. After a couple minutes she gave up, leaving the book open and on her lap as she closed her eyes and leaned back on the headrest. Her hand holding her page, Arme allowed her mind to wander as she began to doze off. _Maybe when I wake up I'll be able to understand what's going on better... I hope. _She had been lying down for at least ten minutes when she felt the book being eased from her hands, and the blankets pulled up to rest over her. Her mind dully registered that it was Lass, but she couldn't feel the energy or will to do anything. Instead she stayed still, waiting for the last of her consciousness to slip away.

* * *

"Arme... Wake up..." The magician stirred slowly to the sound of Lass' voice, her eyes opening to see the azure eyed boy standing next to the bed. Somewhere along the line she had been laid down so her head was on the pillow instead of the headrest, saving Arme from the headache she had realized lazily that she would have before falling asleep. Looking at him, Arme noted he was back to his regular shade of pale, but something in his eyes wasn't quite right. _He still looks a bit out of it... _She thought silently, hardly noticing that he had brought a plate of food. She did realize it when he picked it up off the bed stand, waiting for her to sit up before resting it on her lap.

"Amy made this for you in the morning before she left." He said, gesturing vaguely at the entire dish. This made Arme feel a bit less than comfortable, remembering the stash of vials in her cupboard and the coffee-hyped Amy; somewhat wondering whether or not the dancer would have had a chance to sneak some of the potion in her meal. Lass noticed her apprehension quickly, shaking his head as he took a few steps back.

"If you're worried about the medicine, Amy told me you can only have it during or after dinner. She wouldn't have purposely stuck it into your lunch." He said, though the words didn't particularily assure Arme of anything. She somewhat hesitantly picked up the spoon, dipping it into the bowl of soup and lifting up some of the soup. Blowing over the liquid to remove as much of the steam as she could, Arme had taken one sip of the soup when she noticed Lass had moved back. She blinked as she watched him standing against the wall, hands at his sides while he stared back at her.

"You can come sit down, you know." She mentioned as she took another spoonful of the soup, the assassin shaking his head in response.

"I'm fine..." He said softly, glancing out the window. Arme huffed, a light pout on her face when she continued eating. The pout didn't affect the assassin in the least, and he stayed in place as he waited for her to finish her meal. When the violet haired girl finished the soup (that she had concluded to be made of some of the harpie from the previous day), she moved on to the toast that was lying next to the bowl (probably dredged from Amy's bag before she had left). Nibbling on the edge of the bread, Arme spared a glance towards the water before she took a sip, deciding to trust Lass that Amy hadn't added her potion to the drink. It tasted plain; in no way the equivalent to the vial she had been made to drink the previous day. Satisfied that nothing on the plate contained traces of the nasty-tasting liquid, Arme finished the rest of her food quickly before turning to the silver haired assassin at the wall. Lass looked over and caught her eye, standing up straight and walking over as he realized she was done. When everything had been placed on the tray he stuck it on her bedside, and the magician was more than shocked to see him reaching into his pocket. _No, no, no- _Her fear was soon realized; Lass pulled the small white tube Amy had given him out, and was watching her lazily in a way that clearly stated _'You know this is inevitable so just get it over with. You're wasting time here...' _Even so, Arme did the best thing she could to avoid the situation; attempting to reach out and take the cream from him. Shaking his head, the blue eyed boy pulled it back the slightest and out of her reach.

"Show me the wound, Arme..." Lass murmured, still staring through half-lidded eyes. Arme shook her head furiously, leaning away as a blush coloured her cheeks lightly.

"I can do it myself!" She insisted quietly, hands covering her wound defensively. The assassin rolled his eyes.

"And what happens when you somehow manage to break the skin over the bite again and neither Amy nor Ronan are here to heal? Not going to happen, Arme." The magician still resisted, even as he reached a hand out to pull her wrist away from her stomach.

"No!" The short girl protested, averting her gaze, "I'm not taking my shirt off in front of you!" Lass sighed exasperatedly, managing to pry away one of her hands.

"You're not taking your shirt off. You just need to lift the edge so I can see where the injury is..." He explained. This was something Arme already knew, and it didn't seem to make her feel any less embarrassed.

"B-but-" She was cut off by a rather final statement by Lass, "And if you don't move your shirt, don't trust that I won't." Eyes widening, Arme turned to look at him as her other hand was pulled off the bite.

"Y-you wouldn't-" She stuttered, receiving a skeptical gaze from the thief.

"I would." Arme's blush darkened as he reached for the hem of her shirt, and she frantically pulled her wrists from his grip.

"**Okay, okay! You win!**" She gave in loudly, hand hesitantly grabbing the edge of her shirt before he could. Lass watched her without any particular expression, and Arme turned to look at the window when she had pulled her top up enough that the wound was visible. It was only a moment before the cool cream was pressed against her stomach, both hurting and comforting the wound. She winced lightly, leaning back on the pillows a bit more for support. Lass noticed; a glance up at her for a second as the pressure on her stomach pulled away.

"Arme? Are you alright?" She gave a nod, looking down at the wound. The bruise that had begun to surround the large red mark was enough to make her frown, the dark purple looking out of place on her light skin (even more so due to Lass' pale hand lying next to it). When he was assured that the magician was actually as alright as she said she was he placed another thin layer of the cream over the skin before placing the cap back on the tube and placing that back in his pocket, allowing her to pull the pajama top back down the rest of the way. With that finished the assassin turned around, lifting up the tray of food as he headed toward the door. For some reason the sight alarmed the magician; she didn't want to be left alone.

"T-thank you..." She called after him quietly. The assassin nodded, still headed towards the door without turning around. Arme stared at her lap, frustration building up until she finally decided to throw away her pride and call him back.

"L-Lass..." She started hestiantly, "Could you..." Her voice trailed off as she looked down at her hands nervously. This, however, grabbed the silver haired boy's attention. He turned back to her curiously as she stuttered over her words. _There' s nothing wrong with this place... Why am I even worried? I shouldn't be asking him this..._

"I... Never mind." This just proved to make him even more curious, turning around fully to face her.

"Hm?" The tone in his voice was clear even through that one sound, letting her know he most likely wouldn't leave until she said what was on her mind. Taking a deep breath, Arme looked back at him.

"I don't think... I'm not sure, but... I don't feel comfortable in this place alone right now..." She finally said, voice quiet. Lass' eyes widened; that quite obviously wasn't what he'd been expecting. Even so, she watched with shock as the assassin took several steps back into the room and towards the fireplace. Taking a seat in the main chair where she herself had been seated hours ago, he looked at her lazily. She had initially been expecting him to laugh at her, maybe a smirk or some sort of cynical remark before he left anyway. Instead he had pulled his legs up onto the chair as well, leaning forward on them as his gaze moved to the hearth. The tray that held the empty bowl and cup sat on the chair next to him, and silence filled the room as Arme watched him for a few more minutes.

"Aren't you going to make fun of me or something?" Lass shook his head, "If I was going to, wouldn't I have started a couple minutes ago?" Silence ensued, Arme lying back down on the bed. Rolling over and onto her side, she curled up and sighed. A light frown and blush covered her face as she pulled the covers up tighter around her, pressing her cheek into the pillow. _Just brilliant, Arme! How am I supposed to sleep with him staring at me? _Finally she pulled the blanket up over her head, giving her the feel of a bit more privacy. Fortunately for her, in the more recent days sleep had been easier to be lulled into. She was soon sleeping soundly, despite the bright light that filled the room.

* * *

The next time Arme woke up the sky had gotten a bit darker, though there wasn't any immediate fear of it being to dark to read. Pulling the covers down over her head lazily, the magician sat up and stretched before looking around. What she noticed immediately, to her surprise, was that Lass was still sitting in the chair, in nearly the exact same position he had been when she had fallen asleep.

"How long was I sleeping for?" She questioned lazily, tilting her head to the side.

"Two hours, possibly three." He shrugged, standing up. Picking up the tray of food, he turned to look at her. The purple haired girl was staring back at him surprisedly, eyes wide.

"You actually stayed that long?" Nodding, Lass stepped towards the door.

"Yeah. I need to put this tray back in the kitchen, are you okay being here alone?" There was a slight trace of worry in his voice, and Arme began to feel guilty. _It was just some little feeling, and I'm making him worry over it like it's something big..._

"I'll be fine! Don't worry about it." Smiling, the magician waved him out of the room, reaching over to pick up her book. The story so far had been interesting, the contents sounding much more like a fantasy book than that of a history book. _Then again, doesn't this whole world seem a bit like a fantasy book? _She mused as she turned the pages, searching for her spot for about a minute before finally finding what she was looking for. In the beginning it had seemed much like the Grand Chase, a group of people lead by the person the book was about, Sieghart. At the opening of the book it had had a bio for each of the members, leading up to their unfortunate deaths during the mission. It was said that Sieghart himself was the only one standing to fight the final enemy, and that he was able to single handedly take down a god. For this he was given immortality by the other, thankful gods, and his current whereabouts were unknown. He had all but disappeared when the fuss over the final fight was done, leaving thousands of people confused. Arme was currently reading a more detailed account of the first of the chain of deaths, a finger resting on her lips as she thought. _Wouldn't it be amusing if we ran into this guy during our travels? _She wondered, even though the logical side of her was screaming that it was impossible for the highlander to still be alive.

Immersed in reading through the book, Arme had hardly noticed as hours passed by, and she was several chapters further by the time the silver haired boy returned. The creaking door caught her attentions immediately, and she looked up from her page to see Lass standing in the doorway with a new tray of food. He closed the door with his foot before walking over to the bed, Arme closing her book.

"It's dinner time already?" She questioned as she placed it on the other side of the double bed, accepting the tray from the assassin. Lass nodded, and Arme looked back up at him curiously.

"Shouldn't you be eating too?" She asked, a fork hovering over the piece of meat that lay on the plate next to something that looked similar to a stir-fry. The azure-eyed boy shook his head, stepping away.

"I'll eat after." He murmured quietly, watching as a sudden expression of dread came over Arme's face. Picking up the cup of what appeared to be a light red juice, the magician swirled it around in it's container before looking over at the thief worriedly.

"Your potion's in that." He stated, not even bothering to deny it in the slightest. Shivering, the short girl placed it back on the tray before looking back to her meat and resolving to eat that first.

"I expect you to drink it..." He reminded her, Arme nodding as she cut off a piece of meat. When it was in her mouth she blinked slowly, staring at the short haired male.

"Amy didn't cook this, so you did?" She questioned surprisedly, receiving a nod from the assassin.

"Lass, you're a really good chef! Amy said no one else could cook!" She gaped, looking down at the plate. The mentioned boy shrugged.

"That's because I don't cook for other people often." He explained, getting a confused glance from the girl.

"Wait... You mean all this time that I've been cooking, I could have been getting you to make the food?" Arme demanded.

"I wouldn't have. I prefer your cooking." He said quietly, another blush coming to Arme's cheeks. _I really need to stop all this blushing... _She thought embarrasedly, though it didn't do anything for the colour of her face. When she finished with the meat and the stir-fry she stared at the drink for a good few minutes before cautiously picking it up, raising it to her lips with a sigh. As soon as she drank a sip, the cup was away and she was staring at the assassin in confusion.

"This tastes exactly like water!" She exclaimed, a frown coming onto her face when he nodded.

"That's because it is water." Was the unexpected reply, and Arme gaped at him.

"B-but you said-"

"I lied. It was in your meat." He stated, watching as the magician looked down at the plate in disbelief.

"But there's no way- I didn't taste it at all!" Taking another sip of the drink, Arme stared down at her plate with confusion.

"The taste wasn't too hard to cover up..." He explained, nearing the side of the bed as she finished with the drink. Handing over the tray, Arme reached out to grab her book as Lass took it from her. He looked her over once before heading to the door, balancing the tray in one hand and sliding it open smoothly. It closed behind him without another sound, and the magician quickly glanced towards the bathroom. _I should probably take a bath now... Why does this place even have running water? _The question came to her mind suddenly, and Arme resolved to ask Lass when he got back. Slipping out of the bed quietly, the purple haired girl tip-toed over to her armoire and pulled it open. Her bag's contents appeared to have been folded and/or hung up, and she quickly found another set of pajamas to change into. Making her way quietly over to the bathroom, Arme shut the door quietly behind her before turning on the tap. Amy appeared to have left the soap and other bathing needs nearby, Arme gathered them up and set them on the rim of the tub as she noticed the bath filling up quickly. The water was warm, and she stepped into the large tub carefully. The water not yet full, Arme was given another look at her injury. It wasn't bleeding, that for which she was extremely grateful. There were still a few areas of it that were a dark red, but it was mostly the bruise at that point, blooming over her skin much further than the original bite as a most likely result of all the incidents that had gone on after it was inflicted. With a sigh she rested her head on the rim of the tub, the water still pouring in and making it almost impossible to hear when there was a knock on the door.

"Arme?" Oh, Lass.

"I'm taking a bath!" She called back as loudly as she could over the sound of the running water.

"Alright. Don't hurt yourself. Or drown." The worst part about hearing this was that she could tell he was being serious, and Arme frowned.

"I'm not **that** bad! I wouldn't drown in a bathtub!" She yelled. There was silence on the other side of the door for a moment before he responded.

"I'm going to leave the time you fell asleep in the main house's bathroom with the water running and nearly flooded the second floor out of this argument." He responded, to which Arme didn't have a comeback. Splashing the water with her hands lightly, she waited until the tub was a bit more full before turning the rather large oversized and gold-coloured tap off. The bath in general didn't share the rustic look of the rest of the castle, and Arme wondered briefly if it had just been better maintained or if there was another reason for it's good condition. The thought swept away as she started to wash her hair, Arme gave a sigh as the relaxing feeling of the warm water began seeping in. She didn't lie back for a worry of falling asleep and proving Lass correct in that she could drown in a tub, realizing that he would probably have to open the door to come get her if she did so. Frowning, Arme quickly washed the cleaner out of her hair and grabbed the soap. Soon she felt fresh again, and she stepped out of the tub slowly. After changing she threw her previous clothes into the hamper provided, resolving to wash them when she was given the okay to move freely again. When she exited the room she noticed Lass sitting in the same chair he was in earlier, glancing at her lazily. Arme gave a small wave before heading over to the bed, curling up in the warm blankets. Thoughts to ask about the bath were forgotten as she dozed off, breathing softly.

* * *

The rest of the week passed much in the same fashion, Lass making meals while Arme stayed in her room either reading or sleeping. The effects of whatever spell had been used on her had been wearing off each day, leaving Arme awake and much louder. She had finished several books on magic and was eager to practice, though she couldn't imagine Lass being happy to find her conjuring a spell while she was supposed to be resting. Amy, Elesis and Ronan were scheduled to come back any time within the next few days, something Arme was hyperly awaiting. The assassin had been more anti-social than Arme was accustomed to over the last week, not speaking unless she had a question, and even then sometimes not answering. The most she had gotten out of him was a scolding for when she had been caught trying to make her way back to the study, looking for a book mentioned in one of the others she had read. The magician had also taken to making a game out of trying to find out what the potion was inside on her food tray, though she had only guessed correctly twice.

That particular day brought Arme sitting in her bed, reading a book containing several useful-sounding potions while Lass watched absentmindedly from the chair infront of the fireplace.

"And this potion can make anything blend in with it's surroundings! It's known to have some pretty weird side-effects if it's done incorrectly, though." She explained to the assassin, who didn't seem to particularily care. He nodded lazily, rubbing his eyes as he looked out the window.

"I'm going to go make lunch, alright?" He told her as he stood up, Arme nodding in agreement.

"I'll be here, not sneaking out or doing anything self-hazardous." She grinned as he walked away, a glance back at her to quite clearly tell her _'Stay put.' _She looked at him mischeviously, even though she knew she was too interested in the current section of her book to bother causing trouble. Sighing, the assassin left the room anyways. She looked back down at her book interestedly, reading over all the necessary ingredients to make the potion. _Can probably get that... That... And... What __**is**_ _that? _She frowned at the request for the _'Frill of a Giant Frillzard'_, supposedly making the potion a rare one. Folding the corner of the page, she left it for asking Lass about later as she moved on to the next potion listed.

"Colour inversion potion? I'd like to know the practical use for this..." She murmured as she looked over the ingredients and procedure lazily. _Well, it's not too difficult. I could probably get the ingredients and... I dunno, change my hair colour to blonde and see if I could confuse Lass? Or I could dye his hair, or... _Her thoughts on the topic were disturbed by a quiet sound, catching her attention quickly after weeks of trying to hear Lass' silent footsteps on the ground.

"What... Is that?" She questioned quietly, though no one was in the room to hear it. There was a steadily crecendoing beat, sounding almost like... _The flap of wings? It's so loud... _Worriedly the magician sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed as the sound got louder. After closing the book and sticking it on the bedside table she stood up cautiously, walking slowly over to the window. Through the ancient glass she couldn't see extremely clearly, though it was enough that her eyes widened as she saw a large, reddish shape enter her view. Taking a step back from the window and blinking as though it would make the shape go away, Arme was disappointed to find that it wasn't disappearing.

"Harpie..." She murmured disbelievingly, unable to get herself to speak any louder. _Do they just fly around the castle like this? I've never seen one do this before... Just stay calm... _Her tact didn't prove to be the most appropriate, and soon there was a large crash as claws shattered the glass on the window. It rained down on her, though that was quite easily the least of her worries at that point. The large red and golden bird-human didn't stop at the window, though several shards of the glass were sticking into it's body and wings. Arms covering her eyes to protect them from the glass, Arme couldn't tell that the bird had continued diving forward until she felt three claws pierce her abdomen.

"**Ahhh!**" Screaming loudly, the magician was completely unsure of what to do as the claws hooked into her, the harpie-woman leaning down as she attempted to spread her mangled wings in the room. Beating her wings faster and faster as the feathers were straightened out the best they could be, the harpie cackled cruelly as she turned back to the window.

"MiNE, MinEMiNE.. I'Ve GoT HEr...!" She rasped loudly, Arme's small body slammed into the stone wall area below the window like a ragdoll while the harpie raised her other claw to the window sill. Arme's head was spilling, hands trying the best they could to loosen the claw's grip on her flesh as tears poured down her face. _Blood... There's so much of it... _She thought queasily, her hands coated in the red liquid. The sound of the door slamming against the wall as it was flung open was her only refuge, her eyes blearily searching the room.

"**Put her down!**" The Harpie looked around displeasedly for the source of the voice, and it located the white haired boy at the same time as Arme. A smile was brought to the magician's face as a frown fell on the harpie's, the over sized bird attempting to back out the window.

"MiNe MInE MiNE MINE MINE MINE MINE **MINE**!" She seemed to insist, voice coming out in a shriek. The claw in Arme's abdomen tightened, and Arme began coughing. _Lass is gonna be... So mad at me for this... _She thought hazily as the assassin charged, slicing through a wing that was wrapped over the magician to hide her. Another loud shriek issued from the harpie as it's leg was sliced cleanly off, and Arme fell roughly to the ground. Pieces of glass were pressing painfully into her back, her eyes hardly open as she watched Lass whip a chain at the harpie that was now attempting to grab Arme with the leg, clearly valuing the little magician more than it's own life.

"**Yours? Hardly.**" Lass whispered venomously, blade dredging hastily through the chest of the bird before it could reach Arme. The harpie wailed, a higher pitch than Arme had ever hoped to hear anything at. Her eyes finally fell shut as her hands tightened and loosened around the leg of the claw still attached to her stomach, not wanting to deal with the pain of pulling it out. She could hear when the harpie's shriek finally dwindled to nothing, another loud sound as it crashed into the ground four floors below. Next she felt Lass' hands resting on top of her own, gently easing them off the claw. She instead reached out to grab onto the front of his shirt, eyes clenched shut to try to prevent tears, her teeth digging into her lip as she tried to keep herself from crying out. _Did it hurt this badly when I was bitten? _She wondered vaguely as she was lifted up, _I don't remember... _A hand ran through her hair in an attempt to comfort her as the beating of more wings were heard, and Arme began shaking.

"T-There are... More?" She whispered quietly, looking up at the silver haired boy through watery eyes. Lass glanced down at her, nodding softly as he walked over to the bed, brushing off the glass and fixing the sheets as quickly before attempting to set her down. Arme didn't release her grip on his clothes, azure eyes looking down at her worriedly.

"I... I hurt, Lass..." She whimpered, pressing her forehead to his shoulder. Lass nodded, a hand wiping away as many of her tears as he could.

"I know. I'm sorry... Lay down for a while, I need to go get rid of the rest of them. You'll be alright." He murmured, lying her down on her side. Still one small hand held his clothes, and Lass gently tried to pry it off.

"I'm... Afraid to be alone right now." She weeped softly. At this it was apparent the assassin was about ready to cry himself, and he finally loosened her grip on his clothes.

"I'm sorry." He repeated, picking up his scimitar from the ground where he had apparently dropped it after defeating the first harpie. With one last look back at her, he jumped out the window and down to where the harpies were probably congregating. Arme didn't dare roll over and press the glass further into her back, her hands deliriously wrapping back around the leg of the claw. _It hurts so much... If I get rid of it, will the hurt go away? _She wondered, pulling at it. This only brought more wrenching pain, and Arme stopped almost immediately. Her eyes stayed closed to avoid the sight of all the blood that was probably in the room by that point; hers, the harpies... She wouldn't have doubted it if Lass' had somehow managed to make it into the mix as well. Loud footsteps were soon heard, and Arme shook as her eyes squeezed shut. _And now something else is coming? Can't I ever just be left alone and not in pain? _

"**ARME! ARME!**" _A... Amy? Oh... That's a good sound. _The footsteps got louder quickly, and soon they were close enough that she knew the dancer was in the room.

"Oh my god, Arme... **RONAN, HURRY UP!**" Amy yelled. Arme opened her eyes lazily to see the pink haired girl kneeling down next to the bed.

"Arme, don't pull that out yet. It'll make the bleeding worse..." She reprimanded gingerly, turning as the spell knight entered the room.

"W-What... Arme!" He gasped, and the magician could hear footsteps running over to Amy's side, "It's really as bad as Lass said it was..." The dancer rolled her eyes, though they were watering up.

"You think he'd lie about something like this?" She questioned as a hand rested on Arme's side, and the purple haired girl could feel when she began to cast her heal.

"Not lie... I guessed he might have been a bit over-concerned, b-but..."

"We can discuss this later! Go to her back and start pulling out the glass... Make sure to heal the cuts closed after you're done, I don't want her losing any more blood than she has to right now. It's going to be bad enough when we pull out this claw, it looks like it's hooked in there." Arme's body began shaking worse, and she watched as Ronan nodded and moved to the other side of the bed. Amy noticed, and her hand rested on the shorter girl's sympathetically.

"Arme, I'm not going to lie to you here... This is going to hurt, but if we don't do it now it'll hurt a lot worse. Just try to hold out while we do this, alright?" Nodding, the magician squeezed her eyes shut as she felt a small piece of glass removed from her back. The healing afterwards was slightly comforting, though it didn't have her prepared for when the claw in her stomach was wenched slightly out. Gasping in pain, the girl buckled over. Her hands instinctively tried to cover the claw and keep Amy from pulling it out, but she stopped them at the last second, clenching them into fists and pressing them against the bedspread. More pieces of glass were pulled out quickly, Arme wincing. She couldn't help it when her eyes began watering again, sobs wracking her body as she prevented herself from trying to stop either of the healers from doing their part.

"Sorry... I'm almost done." Ronan said quietly, attempting to comfort the girl cautiously. Arme didn't respond, the pulling of the claw out of her stomach making her uncertain on whether or not she would be able to silence the scream that was building.

"You've healed all the cuts, right?" Amy questioned, her voice broken up by her own tears.

"Mostly... Some were too big to be fully fixed." He responded.

"Wh... Wh-ere's Ele... Elesis?" Arme asked faintly, trying desperately to keep her mind off the pain.

"Outside with Lass, fighting the harpies." Amy answered quietly, brushing a strand of pink hair out of her eyes, "But they'll come inside as soon as they're done." A rather large piece of glass was pulled out of her back, and Arme gasped quietly.

"Last one." Ronan stated softly, moving back over to where Amy was, "Need more help?" Amy shook her head.

"Right now I need a bit of time to concentrate and decide on the best plan... Go outside and provide some backup, let them know what's going on so far. The faster we can get the rest of the harpies gone, the better." The knight nodded, turning back to the door and exiting quickly.

"Arme, the claw's about half way out. It's just a little bit more, okay?" Nodding, Arme bit her lip and braced herself for the pain that was to follow. The talons were removed slowly, the magician feeling every last tug as it was pulled out of her skin. When it was finally removed her head collapsed against the pillow, her body going slack as she closed her eyes. She hadn't been expecting the antiseptic that followed, burning as it was rubbed softly against her stomach.

"Your shirt is ripped to shreds, do you mind if I take it off while I wrap your stomach?" The dancer asked, a light heal still hovering over her new wound. Arme shook her head numbly, everything beginning to go fuzzy as the material was ripped at the seams. She felt somewhat guilty for not being more helpful when the dancer began to wind the gauze around her, though she couldn't muster the energy to sit up in the slightest. Footsteps were heard heading towards them soon enough, the blanket resting over the magician gingerly when a thud was heard.

"How is she?" Arme's eyes opened as Lass' voice was heard, and she saw the assassin walking over to kneel next to the bed. His hand was lying on the sheets, and Arme reached out with her own to grab onto his lightly. The silver haired boy didn't complain in the least, turning to look at Amy.

"She's in a lot of pain right now," The dancer sighed, "But there isn't any threat to her life any more. If we hadn't been arriving back right then, though... You would have been needing Ryan." Lass breathed out a sigh of relief, reaching out his other hand to smooth the magician's lightly bloodstained hair.

"You can sleep now..." He murmured softly, looking over at the door as Elesis and Ronan entered the room. Arme nodded sleepily, head pressing into the pillow.

"It's just one thing after another..." She whimpered absentmindedly, everything blurring out, "It'd be nice to just be fine for once."

* * *

"Nhh..." Arme stirred slowly, the pillow soft below her.

"Arme?" At the sound of Lass' voice the magician opened her eyes, looking into azure ones. His eyes widened before he let out a sigh, a hand wiping the corner of his eye. The short girl reached out to put her hand on his arm, gingerly turning her head to look around the room. She appeared to have been moved to a different room, no one else present inside. It had nearly the same layout, though there was no fireplace and the bathroom was on the east wall instead of the west, next to the armoire.

"I... How long was I out this time? Where's Amy and the others?" She asked curiously, attempting to sit up. The thief noticed her attempt, and before she could get too far she was pressed back down onto the bed.

"I wouldn't suggest that unless you're looking for pain." He stated, "And you were out for four days. Amy, Ronan and Elesis had to go or they wouldn't finish checking out the marsh in time, but Amy was sure to leave plenty of instructions. Your bed rest time was upped from one week to the rest of the month, and there are some other things that apply here that I'll leave until later. Before leaving Amy and Ronan were here for nearly three days healing until they were both at their limit... Your wound should be healing more quickly than the initial bite. Which is good, seeing as it was worse..." He sighed, resting his forehead on the bed near her arm.

"I... I'm sorry, Arme." He said eventually, glancing up at her. Arme rested a hand on his hair confusedly, tipping her head to the side, "For what?" At this the assassin frowned, though he didn't move away.

"I shouldn't have left you alone... If I was in the room this wouldn't have happened." The magician rolled her eyes, pulling on his hair lightly.

"Don't be silly, Lass! You were making **lunch**, you hardly knew a harpie was about to burst through the window."

"But-"

"No buts! If you hadn't shown up I would have been dragged out of the window and transported via claw-in-stomach to where ever that thing seemed to think it wanted me!" She insisted forcefully. The assassin looked at her disbelievingly, then sighed. A small smile slowly pulled onto his face, a light chuckle as he shook his head.

"You're unbelievable some days..." Arme grinned.

"And that's the first time you've laughed in the last week and a half! Now go make me lunch!" She smiled, waving him out of the room, "I'm hungry!" Lass looked down at her as he stood up, glancing uncertainly at the door.

"**Call me **if you need me, Arme. Seriously." She nodded, rolling her eyes.

"I will, I will! Now go!" The assassin sighed.

"Impatient, are we?" He smirked, "I'll be back soon." With that he left the room, allowing the magician to rest her hand on her wound. _I can't tell him it hurts... After all the worrying I'm sure he's done, that would just be cruel... _

* * *

The next two weeks passed in a similar way, Lass making sure Arme didn't do anything too strenuous. The magician's condition had improved greatly, enough so that on that particular day Arme had decided to get up. _Lass is off doing who knows what for once, which means... I can make dinner! _The purple haired girl though gleefully, clapping her hands together. _He's been doing so much for me lately... I feel pretty useless. _Her stomach still hadn't completely healed, but that didn't do much to deter the small magician from slowly easing herself off her bed. Praying Lass was nowhere near the room, Arme used the wall as a support to get to the door. The hallways outside her room looked extremely similar, and Arme soon realized that she had only been moved a couple rooms off of her old one. Silencing the urge to go see if it had been cleaned up yet, the amethyst-eyed girl cautiously and quietly made her way down the hallway. Staircases took a bit longer, but Arme tried to move as quickly as possible. _He always checks on me before he goes to make lunch... He's gonna go berserk if he finds out I'm not in my room. _Giggling a little, Arme realized that in the end that result would be inevitable, especially if she made dinner. _Still... I want to do __**something **__for him..._Peeking cautiously into the dining room after braving two flights of stairs, the magician let out a breath as she noted that no one was there. Tippy-toeing past the table, Arme slipped into the kitchen quietly.

"Let's get cooking!" She grinned, rubbing her hands together. It took her a few minutes to get familiar with the location of everything, and she had to use the counter as a prop to keep herself standing as she looked around. She remembered suddenly that there was no fridge, but Lass had fortunately left his own cooking supplies for lunch out. A simple soup in mind, Arme reached down into one of the cupboards to pull out the large pot she had noted when looking over the stock.

"Hm?" It was heavier than she had expected, and she had to pull at it several times to finally yank it out of it's spot.

"So heavy... Is there something inside?" She questioned after she had set it down on the stove. Stretching to reach the inside, she was surprised to find something was actually inside. Pulling it out, Arme gaped at the object in her hand.

"Wh-What?"

* * *

From his spot on top of the roof, Lass sighed.

"Better get downstairs and check on Arme..." He murmured thoughtfully, "I wouldn't doubt she's gotten herself into some sort of trouble or another, she's getting restless..." Standing up, he took one last look at the scenery before him. It was still a week before anyone was due to come back, and he wanted to make sure they didn't get any more... Unpleasant surprises. Not noticing anything out of the ordinary, Lass was about to jump down when an explosion sounded, shaking the roof below him.

"**Arme...!**" He groaned, swinging into the window below him and making a beeline for the magician's room.

* * *

A/N: Nomnomnom =D Late update again? You bet 8D I do have reasons though! ... Not very good ones, but still! My family was planning my b-day party~ (has a b-day on the 21st 8D) Anyways, somewhat of a cliffhanger? Hope you enjoyed! And thanks so much for all the reviews, I love recieving them! You guys make my day :3

-Utsuro


	18. A Day for Two

A/N: I think this story is getting to the halfway point~! =3 (or it's already passed that, I'm not sure xD;;) Thanks to everyone for supporting me as much as you all have! I never expected this to get as many comments as it did! I love recieving them~ At the end of this story I'll post a proper thanks to all of you~

On a side note, Arme said she was making lunch last chapter, Sorry 'bout that xD;; It's been fixed~ (was supposed to be dinner)

Disclaimer: Dundundundundundundundundun... I... Still don't own GC. OTL

Chapter 17: A Day for Two

* * *

Lass frowned as he sped through the halls, aiming for the magician's room. _What exactly could she have exploded? It's not like I left anything even slightly dangerous in there... Right? _He took four steps at a time as he made his way down the stair cases, making his way quickly to Arme's room. When he finally arrived the assassin flung the door open, stepping inside.

"Arme? What did you-" Lass' sentence stopped mid-way as he realized the mentioned girl wasn't in the room at all, the covers pushed over and gathering at the bottom of the bed. Frowning, the next place he turned to was the bathroom. The door was wide open, and a quick check inside allowed him the knowledge that Arme wasn't there either. Giving one last look around the room to convince himself he hadn't simply missed her small figure up against a wall or something of the likes, Lass cursed under his breath as he exited the room.

"Damn it, Arme! I told you to stay in bed..." He muttered frustratedly as he headed for the study, the first logical place to look. Arme wasn't present, and he left just as quickly as he had entered. Her old room didn't bring up much either, though he noted that the stone floor below the window was beginning to crumble (most likely due to the harpie incident of weeks prior). His concern growing, Lass forced himself to take the time to open each door on the floor and do a brief check before moving onto the lower ones. This procedure proved fruitless on the third floor, and it wasn't until he was at the second that something else came to mind.

"The kitchen!" The assassin exclaimed quietly, passing through the dining room quickly. In the next room he found what he was looking for; the small magician was sitting against the wall with her head on her knees, and she turned to look at him miserably as he entered. He looked over the rest of the room hastily, noting a knocked over pot resting on the stove and a rather decently sized dent in the counter and wall next to it. The area was charred lightly black, and the silver haired boy concluded that it was most likely the location of the explosion.

"What are you doing in here? And what exploded?" He demanded, picking up the magician cautiously and setting her on the counter. He looked her over carefully for any injuries, but couldn't find anything aside from those obtained a few weeks earlier.

"There was a bomb in the pot." The violet haired girl said quietly, as though that would explain the situation. Lass tilted his head to the side a bit, eyebrows furrowing as he looked at her.

"A... Bomb? I can assure you there isn't, I cooked with it last week! What are you talking about?" He questioned, surprised when Arme pushed herself on the counter. Ignoring his frown as her feet touched the floor, Arme stood the pot back up and reached inside (this was somewhat difficult provided her height, and the girl had to stand on her toes to reach). When she did she appeared to be lifting something heavy out, and she finally turned around with a large, somewhat circular object in hand.

"What's this then? I'm pretty sure it's a bomb, judging by the way the last one exploded!" She insisted, looking at the lit fuse miserably. Before it could reach the bottom Lass sliced the wick off with a kunai reflexively pulled from his pocket, effectively preventing it from exploding. When this was done he stared at Arme incredulously, leaning over to look into the pot again.

"But... There's nothing inside..." He murmured, confusion evident in his voice. Arme shrugged.

"Apparently there was. I think I... I might know what happened, though." She suggested hesitantly. Lass nodded, ready for about any explanation at that point.

"Second job, Alchemist... The weapon is a pot. I'm not so sure about the skills, but..." This confused Lass even more, a single eyebrow raised as he looked at her.

"You haven't gathered fragments, or even talked to Elena about it from what it seems. How could you...?" He trailed off as Arme held up a finger, imploring the assassin to wait.

"It was in something I read... Sometimes a person can 'find' their job, rather than doing the quest. This happened more so with people when they've accomplished all of the possibilities of their current stage... Some times the weapon will just appear out of thin air, though that's even more rare. It's more common in magicians due to magical tendencies, but... It wouldn't make sense for it to happen to me. I'm no where near mastering my staff!" She exclaimed worriedly, Looking up at into azure eyes. Lass sighed and shrugged.

"According to the pot, you are... We should probably send out a letter to Elena via bird asking about this." Arme nodded with the suggestion, attempting to sidestep out of the kitchen. Lass caught her arm before she could, "And you still haven't answered my question as to why you were in the kitchen when you were quite clearly told to stay in bed." Pressing the tips of her fingers together, Arme looked down at the floor as she wondered what exactly to say.

"I haven't been doing anything lately, so I wanted to make dinner for you." She answered finally, a small, embarrased smile on her face. Lass sighed again.

"You know I don't mind cooking, and you stress me out more when I find you not in your room with explosions going on and whatnot... If you really wanted to cook, you should have asked."

"But then it wouldn't be a surprise!" She pouted, blinking as Lass picked her up again and set her back down on the counter.

"You can help." He offered with a smirk, "So long as you keep far away from the pot." A grin came to Arme's face, a more vibrant sparkle to her eyes as she looked around. Lass watched with amusement, moving over to gather the cooking supplies.

"Excited much?" The assassin questioned quietly as he handed her some of the vegetables and a knife, somewhat wondering if it was a bright idea to be giving the danger prone girl a sharp object. _She seems to do fine in the kitchen most days... _He mused quietly, reaching over to grab the pot and fill it with water.

"You were thinking a soup, right?" He asked, the tap running. Arme nodded as she chopped the vegetables, frowning over her lack of a cutting board. The counter seemed to have seen worse treatment than what she was currently doing though, so the magician simply shrugged. A sudden thought coming to mind, Arme blinked curiously at Lass.

"I just remembered that I was planning on asking this earlier... It's a bit random, but I've been wondering for a while. Why do villagers refer to the chase with 'sama' attached to your names?" She asked inquisitively, beginning to peel one of the potatoes lain out before her. Returning with the pot, Lass quickly lit the fire below the burner before turning to her.

"You don't know what an honorific is?" He asked incredulously, staring when the magician shook her head. Head tilting down for a second, the assassin pondered the best way to explain.

"Well... They're kind of like... They signify your relationship with the person you're speaking to, sort of... Like... Different ones mean different things. You'd refer to someone you highly respect with 'sama', acquaintances as 'san', 'kun' or 'chan'. There are also some less common ones, but since they were adapted from the old language of Xenia not many people know them. If you wanted to figure out you could ask Amy, she studied the language for a while... People who are friends or closer simply refer to each other without any honorific, which is why so far you haven't really had anyone refer to you by anything other than sama. Since lately they've been going more out of style it's not all that uncommon for a person to drop the honorific quickly after meeting. I'm really surprised you didn't run into anything with that at your guild..." He explained vaguely, pulling out another knife from the cupboard to help her with the vegetables. Arme frowned, tilting her head in confusion.

"But then didn't you find it wierd that I didn't use any honorific with your name when I first met you?" She asked, surprised when Lass shook his head.

"Arme, you could hardly form a legitimate sentence, you didn't know what Bermesiah was, and you were having difficulties remembering your own name. I was hardly expecting you to remember to use honorifics. Aside from that, I'm not really a fan of them so I kind of preferred it. Afterwards you just seemed kind of... Terribly confused, so I left it out." He laughed quietly, and Arme blushed as she recalled their first meeting.

"Was I really that out of it?" She asked as she finished slicing the last of the potatoes.

"To be honest, yeah." He replied, opening the cupboard to pull out a strainer. When it was on the counter he placed the chopped up vegetables inside, bringing them over to the sink to allow the water to run over them. When he deemed them to be appropriately cleaned Lass returned to the pot, dumping the contents of the strainer into the warming water. As he did this Arme looked over to the cupboard where she had located the spices earlier, realizing with a frown that they were too far away for her to reach. Lass noticed her gaze before she could make the decision to get down, and he quickly made his way over to the shelves.

"What types of spices and herbs do you want?" The assassin questioned, a hand searching through to pull down some spices he found appropreate. Arme tilted her head.

"What do we have?" Lass shrugged.

"Pretty much anything you want. It's pretty well stocked for being so old." A finger to her lips as she thought, Arme tried to see into the shelves from where she was.

"Uhm... Is there any basil in there?" The white haired boy nodded, reaching up to one of the higher shelves, "Thyme too. Saffron, tumeric, and if we have any, some feferon would be nice. What kind of meat is this, again?" She asked, pointing to the slab of meat that had already been cut into chunks.

"Wild boar." Was the response. Arme's eyebrows raised, and she bit her lip.

"Hmmm... Some sage and rosemary too, then." Lass pulled down several of the containers from the cupboards, continuing to search it for a moment after he had brought down several thin jars.

"No rosemary," He reported, looking at her, "what do you want to replace it with?" Arme frowned a little before answering.

"Oregano should be fine." He nodded and pulled a final container out before shutting the door and returning to where the magician was waiting.

"Well..." She continued to list the amounts of each needed, Lass adding the ingredients as she named them. When all the spices and herbs had been added the meat followed, and Arme took to swinging her feet back and forth.

"That's going to take a while to cook..." She remarked slowly, looking at the assassin. He nodded, stirring the contents of the pot several times before placing the lid on top of it.

"And what do you plan to do for that time?" He asked at her mischievous grin. The magician looked at him pleadingly before looking out the door, "Can I **please** explore the castle now? I feel a lot better now, I swear!" Lass sighed, closing his eyes and frowning.

"I know you do, but still..." He opened his eyes again to see Arme's bright amethyst eyes nearly begging him to let her look around. Letting out another sigh, the sapphire-eyed boy nodded.

"You're not exploring alone, though." This didn't dampen the violet haired magician's spirits at all. Her pouting face was immediately pulled into a grin, and she almost leapt off the counter. Her legs hit the ground shakily, and Lass grabbed her before she could fall. Once she was moved onto his back the girl leaned forward excitedly.

"Onward, Lassie!" She exclaimed, reminding Lass an awful lot of Amy as they departed the kitchen.

'"Could you **not** call me that?" He groaned, heading up the staircase to the second floor.

"But it's so cute~!" She retorted gleefully, looking around excitedly. Lass sighed again, "Are you always like this when you've been on bed rest for a long time?" Arme shrugged.

"Nope, but this is a **castle**, Lass! I've been in it for almost a month and I haven't even been able to explore very much!" She blinked as a sudden grin came to Lass' face, and she looked at him confusedly.

"That's right... That means you wouldn't know about..." He trailed off, smirking even more at Arme's interested expression.

"About what?" She asked, tugging on his hair.

"Nothing." He answered, shaking his head to pull the strand of hair out of her hand as he went up to the next floor. The violet haired girl simply held on tighter, tugging roughly.

"Lass! Tell me!" She demanded.

"You'll see in a minute! Could you let go? That kind of hurts..." The azure eyed boy complained lightly, shaking his head again in an attempt to have his hair released. Arme let it go reluctantly, leaning forward.

"Let's go, then! I wanna see!" The magician exclaimed impatiently, looking around at all of the doors. They didn't stop at the fourth, going up to the fifth floor Arme hadn't been previously aware existed. The long hall way had only one door, A large double-door to the right that seemed to lead into a rather large room, judging by the lack of other doors on that wall. The wall to her left only had windows, though some were shattered. There were a few shards of glass that still littered the floor, and some appeared to have a dark red liquid on them.

"Are those from the harpie attack?" Arme asked, wincing. Lass shook his head lightly.

"Harpies did do that, but a day after the attack that you were awake for. There were only a few; I'm guessing they're the harpies that were flying a bit behind." Arme blinked, tilting her head.

"There were more?" Lass nodded in response to the question.

"They nearly gave us a heart attack. It was a good thing we changed your room the same day you were attacked, because some tried to enter through the window of your old room again." Arme frowned as they made their way to stand in front of the large double doors.

"They really are after me, aren't they...? Do you have any ideas why yet?" The short female asked, watching as Lass' hand hovered over the door handle.

"I... Might have a guess." He let out a slow sigh, looking over at her. Arme's eyes widened, and she looked at him inquisitively.

"There's only one thing I can think of that has control over all of these monsters... Kaze'Aze." Arme tilted her head, looking at him disbelievingly.

"But Lass... She's a powerful witch. What use would she have with me?" She questioned.

"I'm not sure." He replied, "But it's the only idea I have on the issue. Not to mention, the sleeping spell put on you probably would have lasted all the way to where her castle is." The assassin explained, pushing the old door open. Anything Arme might have thought on the issue was entirely forgotten as she saw the inside of the room, her mouth gaping open.

"Lass, this is... A library!" She gasped, attempting to push herself off Lass' back. This silver haired boy nodded, finally relenting and putting her down. He stayed overly close as she made her way to the large shelves that stood in towering rows, a hand running over one of the shelves.

"There are so many books here!" She grinned, pulling out several that seemed interesting. Lass put them back on the shelf, and she turned to look at him disapprovingly.

"You can pick out some books later, but right now try to remember that there's a pot of soup boiling downstairs. If I let you pick any out we'll be in here for hours, and I don't think I can carry half of the library down to your room." Arme frowned a little but nodded, taking one last look at the shelf before she looked around the rest of the library. There was a large seating area to the left of the entrance, and worn beige couches placed up against the far wall. The floor and east wall were crumbling, a hole leading down to the next floor and a crack in the wall where the light of the darkening sky was shining through. It could also be seen through the large windows featured above the couches up against the walls, and Arme began to approach the windows curiously. When she finally made it she kneeled on the cushions of the sofa, leaning forward. What she saw made her grin, eyes wide.

"It's so pretty from here, Lass! I can see everything! Even the sun setting!" the magician laughed cheerfully, hands on the glass. even though it was somewhat dusty she could see fairly well, an expanse of forest surrounding nearly the entire castle. She could also see a lake shimmering in the distance to the right nearing something she couldn't quite see.

"This view amazes you?" It was only when she heard this that she realized the assassin had joined her, looking out the window lazily. Arme nodded excitedly.

"It's so beautiful!" She was surprised when Lass stood up, giving a short stretch before picking her up.

"Wh-Lass! What are you doing?" She stuttered, trying to put a repremanding frown on her face, "This isn't the nicest place in the castle... You'll see." Arme didn't bother to ask where they were going, simply looking around as she was whisked out the door. They made their way to the end of the hall way, and Arme was surprised to see yet another staircase when they turned to the right.

"How many floors **are** there to this place?" She questioned, looking up at Lass. The assassin chuckled, giving her a brief answer.

"This is the last." The hall they had entered was similar to the one her room was in; if she hadn't known better she would have guessed them to be the same. Lass didn't turn into any of the rooms; he instead kept going until they reached the large window at the end.

"Hold on tight." Was the advice given as the latch was turned open and the window pane pushed up. Before she could react the assassin jumped out, using the windowsill as a foothold as he reached up to grab the edge of the stone roof. He swung them up quickly, Arme grasping his jacket tightly. she closed her eyes firmly, only opening them when Lass had set her down and begun to pry her hands off his shirt. When she took the time to look around Arme's eyes widened, and she moved to lean over the stone half-wall most likely put in place to stop people like herself from falling off the edge. The view was much like it had been in the library, albeit much clearer. From the higher vantage point she was able to see further, and everything looked that much more beautiful. She didn't look directly down due to her dislike of heights, instead glancing at the falling sun.

"It's so nice up here!" She exclaimed with a smile, eyes tracing the horizon. She could see the area to the north leading to a rather bleak and grey terrain, and her most automatic thought was that that was where the 'Forsaken Barrows' were located. Looking to her left she could see where the forest began getting more dense. It was fairly dark, and she couldn't see much further. Turning away, she was about to look at Lass when the structure near the lake caught her eye.

"What is that?" She questioned, leaning further over the ledge. Lass' arm was placed in front of her as though he was worried she would lean too far over and fall (it wasn't unlikely).

"That's the... Forgotten city, I believe. From what I've heard it was filled with mechanical enemies, so there's not really much a chance of them coming back. If you look over further you can see the top of Gaikoz Castle..." Amethyst eyes following the direction Lass had pointed, Arme noticed large, red, tower-like peaks pointing out from the trees.

"And that's where Ryan and Jin are, right?" She questioned.

"Yeah, they should be nearly finished with collecting the shards. They should be back before Elesis, Ronan and Amy if nothing goes wrong." Arme nodded absentmindedly, back to looking at the scenery. Lass seemed to have noticed something else, and he walked a couple steps away from where Arme was standing to look over the edge of the other wall.

"Oh yeah," He exclaimed, "I forgot. We're heading back down now, I wanted to send the messenger bird before it got too dark." The magician took one last look off the edge before nodding.

"How do we get down?" She asked after a moment, "It doesn't really look like there's a staircase anywhere around here..."

"Same way we got up." Arme blinked, looking over the roof once more.

"You mean there's really no other way down from here?" Lass shook his head, motioning her over.

"We're going to go down from here."She was told when she had made it over, and she looked over the edge. Several feet below was the roof of a smaller building, and she stared at it curiously.

"What is that?" Lass picked her up before responding, jumping onto the ledge.

"It's the old aviary. There should still be a bird there from when Amy messaged the Knight Master on your status... " The purple haired girl nodded, knowing from past experiences to shut her eyes before the assassin jumped down. The impact was heavy when they landed, the roof of the building shaking. She could feel Lass jump once more to reach the ground, and she opened her eyes slowly.

They were in front of a building that appeared to be almost like a barn, wide doors that slid open at the slightest touch. Setting her down before he entered, Lass peered into the dark room. They entered it moments after, and Arme looked around curiously. The low, loft-like shelves that seemed to be covered with hay, reminding Arme of a barn much more than an aviary. Her eyes briefed over the room for only a moment before she realized something out of place. Something of a deep maroon was peeking out over the ledge, and she squinted as she tried to identify it. Turning to ask Lass what it was, she realized only then that he wasn't in the place he had been before. The silver haired boy had moved over to where a small wooden chair and table stood, a pile of paper lying next to an unlit candle. There was a quill in his hand, and it didn't take long for Arme to realize he was writing the letter for the bird. She shrugged, turning back to where the maroon spot was.

On the right wall there was a small, almost unnoticeable wooden staircase leading to the loft-area, and it only took her a couple seconds to climb it. Once on the wooden shelf she shuffled slowly over to where the maroon thing was sticking out of the hay. She noticed at that distance that whatever it was had golden tips, and a golden line running through it. When she was close enough the magician reached out, her fingers grazing it. She was more than surprised when a soft coo came from the hay, and she pulled her hand back hesitantly. This was when the thin layer of hay in front of her began to shake, rising up. Arme watched curiously as something emerged, and she observed it cautiously. A decently sized bird with creamy beige down and magnificent red plumes emerging from the tips of it's wings, head and tail had been hiding under the hay, and it tilted it's golden and red head at her curiously. This staring continued on until the bird cautiously stepped forward with a grace, rubbing it's head lightly against her hand. At this Arme giggled, kneeling down and stroking the feathers on it's head gently. _This must be the messenger bird... _She thought as it took a few more steps forward to stand on her lap. It then curled up, wings folded loosely against it's body as it resumed it's contented cooing.

"Arme, where are you?" The violet haired girl blinked at Lass' voice, giving the assassin a small wave.

"Up here! I found a bird!" She exclaimed happily, watching as Lass jumped up and grabbed the edge of the platform. Swinging himself up with the letter clenched in his other hand, he turned to her.

"You- Oh great, that thing." He stated displeasedly, eyeing the bird. The cream-coloured fowl had opened it's eyes when the silver haired boy's voice was heard, It's wings spreading out slightly as it glared back.

"Lass?" Arme questioned when the azure eyed male didn't elaborate. He looked up at her for a second and back to the bird, frowning.

"It's the Sidt." He explained lazily. The bird squawked it's protest loudly, spreading it's elegant wings as though proving a point.

"I see you've evolved." He noted with a roll of his eyes, "It'd be Sidtri now, right?" The bird nodded proudly, looking up at Arme as it folded it's wings up. She rubbed it's head again uncertainly, looking back at Lass.

"You know this bird?" She asked, confusion evident in her tone. Lass nodded.

"We're not on very good terms." He said with a frown, "When I first joined the Grand Chase that damn bird gave me several rather painful burns." The Sidtri nodded it's head vigorously, cuddling closer to the magician.

"Care to explain why it hates you so much, then?" She asked as the bird reached up to rub it's head on her cheek affectionately, "It doesn't seem to dislike strangers at all." Lass rolled his eyes again.

"I didn't do anything to it! That thing's just evil!" He sighed, reaching for the bird with the letter and rope. When the Sidtri noticed this it nearly hissed, pulling away from Arme to peck at his hand. Lass winced lightly, and Arme attempted to pull it back. The bird finally gave in, allowing Arme to run her hands over it's soft down as it held it's leg out reluctantly. The assassin hastily attached the letter and moved back, tilting his head at her.

"You might want to send it away, I doubt it'll listen to me." the short girl nodded, standing up. As she did the bird spread it's wings and hefted it's body into the air, lighting down on Arme's arm a moment later.

"Just tell it to go to 'the Violet Mage Guild'. It should understand." Lass called after her as she made her way to the large, open window. The magician reached up to rub it's head as they reached the sill, and she was surprised when it nibbled on her finger lightly. It wasn't painful, tickling Arme and making her giggle when they were at the window.

"Go to the Violet Mage Guild, okay?" Arme repeated Lass' words carefully, the bird nodding seriously. It gave one more glare at the assassin over Arme's shoulder before spreading it's wings wide and lifting itself into the air. Rushing out the window with the long feather on it's tail swaying, it was soon completely out of view. When this happened Lass let out a breath he'd apparently been holding in, walking over to Arme.

"I swear that thing's evil..." He muttered, leaning nearer to Arme to pick her up, "I don't know how you can be so friendly to it." Arme shrugged, laughing lightly.

"It's pretty!" She exclaimed as they departed through the same window the Sidtri had just left. Lass rolled his eyes lightly.

"That's because it sucked up to you!" He accused lightly, Arme laughing at his expression. She reached out tug on his bangs lightly, something that was easily becoming a habit as the white strands grew longer.

"Jealous, Lassie?" She questioned jokingly, a grin on her face. Catching on, Lass smirked.

"Maybe, what with Necromancers, Gorgos, harpies and now even the Sidtri trying to steal you away. Pretty soon I'm just going to have to put a sign that says 'Property of Lass' around your neck." He replied teasingly. The magician laughed again, her face turning a light pink.

"Now then, should we check the soup?" Arme nodded, avoiding looking at Lass even though she was sure her blush would be evident anyways. Pretty soon they were back at the front entrance, a gate that had been broken open long ago. Entering the main room, the assassin wasted no time in heading up to the second story. He was about to set the girl down at the table when he realized she would most definitely protest. He instead carried her back into the kitchen, setting her down on the counter again as he walked over to the pot. The lid was lifted off and a delectable scent filled the air, causing Arme to smile. Lass grabbed the wooden spoon from the counter where it had been left earlier, stirring the contents of the pot a few times before azure eyes peered at the violet haired girl.

"Arme, the bowls are in the cupboard above you." He informed as he moved over to one of the lower cupboards, pulling out two spoons. The girl nodded, "And the cups too?"

"Yep." Arme pulled the required dishes out and set them on the counter next to her, handing them to Lass when he reached out for them. Soon the bowls were filled with soup and the cups with water, the two chasers sitting at the table. Arme dug in quickly, the smell alluring. After the spoonful she smiled.

"This is great! You've gotta cook with me more often!" She said, looking up at the assassin. He sighed, a grin still on his face.

"I knew I shoulda kept that a secret from you..." He groaned quietly, eating slowly. Arme nodded.

"Most definetly!" She agreed, taking a sip from her water, "There's no way you're gonna get out of cooking with me now!" Arme then proceeded to finish the rest of her bowl quickly, grinning up at him victoriously. The white haired boy looked back at her curiously, raising his eyebrows.

"Why are you staring at me like you've won ten thousand gold?" He questioned slowly.

"Because you didn't sneak the potion into my meal!" She exclaimed triumphantly, "I was there the whole time!"

"It was in the soup." He replied casually, taking a drink of his water. Arme gawked disbelievingly for a second, eyes wide.

"No way! I was right there!" She exclaimed, staring.

"And I'm telling you it was in your soup, Arme. If you don't agree with me I can just give you the vial straight." He offered, recieving a furious shaking of the head from Arme.

"It was in the soup!" She hastily agreed, sipping her water slowly as she waited for Lass to finish his meal. He soon did, walking around the table to get to the magician who was trying to stand up on her own. He lifted her up carefully, looking back at the table.

"I'll clean up later." He hastily decided, walking out of the room. They were soon back in Arme's room, the magician set back on her bed.

"You've explored enough to day, so **please **just go to sleep and don't do anything else dangerous today. Now you know about the library... Which I expect you won't try to sneak off to." Arme nodded at the instructions, a mischievous grin on her face that told him she most likely wouldn't be listening to that request. The assassin sighed, moving over to his usual chair. Knowing there was no way she could sneak out when Lass was in the room, Arme decided sleeping was the best thing to do at that time. _After all, I'll need lots of energy to sneak out of my room tomorrow! Or I could just ask Lass, but that wouldn't be as fun..._ A grin was on her face when her head hit the pillow, and she pulled the blankets around herself tightly.

* * *

When Arme woke up the next morning she rubbed her eyes lazily, the morning sun not glaring in through her eyelids as it did most days. _Yes! I woke up early! _She cheered, yawning as she opened her eyes. It was then that her heart momentarily stopped, eyes widening. Her hands shook lightly, and she placed them back on the bedsheets. Only one word entered her mind, and that word in itself was enough to make her feel like someone had just slapped her.

_White. _

_

* * *

_

A/N: DUNDUNDUN 8D Yay for chapter updates at 3:10 in the morning (a short chapter too, sorry about that xD;;)! So... I have a couple things to get to! *Ahem*

1. 126 REVIEWS? I feel so honoured ;_; Honestly, you guys can't imagine how great that feels. I love you all~!

2. Because I passed review 100 without having a fanfic prize (new chapter wasn't prepared Dx) and I also missed chapter 121 (wonderful number, 21 :3)**I'm going to wait until July the 21st (my b-day) to receive reviews for this chapter~ Then I'll randomly select one of you for a fanfiction prize! Just review like normal, and if you're the winner I'll message you asking you what you want! (there are some restrictions; I won't write a pairing I don't support) **I can't guarantee how long it'll take, but I'll do my best! xD;; (Silence took me a pretty long time to get the concept and story down for x3)

3. The Sidtri is pretty~ This part was mainly inspired through Lass' hate for the sidt in the manhwa xD I can never picture them having a friendly relationship

4. Honorifics in this are obviously used a lot more loosely than they would actually be~

5. AI MISS U WILLOW-CHAN! Dx

6. There's cherry pie in my fridge! 8D

7. Wait... Do I actually have anything important to say...?

-Utsuro


	19. Remembering the Past

A/N: Congrats to the winner of the random draw, TheWorldsGreatestMoron~! After this update I'll start working on your oneshot~ Thanks to everyone else who reviewed as well!

Disclaimer: Look at the GC manhwa. If I owned GC, do you really think I'd let that happen? Dx (A.k.a. Utsuro does not own Grand Chase. It belongs to the people who actually do own it!) - no rly xD

Chapter 18: Remembering the Past

* * *

Arme bit her lip, hands tightening and loosening on the sheets repeatedly as she tried to get a hold of herself. The loud beep of the heart monitor was finally coming into her ears, and she was aware of the NG tube taped uncomfortably to her cheek. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, Arme opened her eyes slowly to assess her situation. The lights were all off in her hospital room, the window open with a light breeze waving the curtains around. It was dark outside... She took a look around the rest of the room, searching for anything that might tell her what exactly was going on. There appeared to be a calander hanging on the far wall, though from that distance it was impossible to read. No one else was in the room, and for a moment Arme considered pressing the nurse-call button. She dismissed the thought moments later. _It's not like I have any use for a nurse right now... _She could feel her eyes beginning to water up, and she quickly blinked away the tears. _No crying! There's no use for it... It won't help me here at all. _She took another deep breath and frowned, keeping her eyes closed to bar in any oncoming tears of confusion and frustration.

"Why did this happen...?" She whispered the words quitely, looking down at her hands. _Wherever Lass is, he thinks I'm just sleeping, right? And it's only been a couple hours at most... It seems like that time goes at about half the speed of this time. _She let out a sigh, looking around the room lazily as she gathered her thoughts. _This is just like the last time, Arme. No freaking out, you'll just worry everyone. _It was at this point that Amy's words came back to her; _"__And besides, I think Lass might break down if you keep crying in your sleep~ He was on edge all day yesterday, sulking!" _This made her feel even more like crying, but she took a deep breath to try and stop it. _Don't! If Lass actually is there, he might worry... _The violet haired girl frowned, looking down at her hands.

_Now think through this reasonably... You'll just be in here for a few days, and then you'll fall back to sleep and wake up all safe and secure with Lass frowning at you and about ready to beat you over the head for not taking your medicine for a few days... _She giggled lightly, then leaned back onto her pillow. _That's better. Just think light thoughts. No use worrying. _Looking to her bed side stand, Arme noticed the ever present pill case, a cup filled with pencils and other writing utensils, and her nurse-call button. There was also a remote for the television, but she didn't touch it. _It's probably late... Don't want to wake up any of the other patients. _She wondered briefly if she would be allowed to go for a walk, but with the NGtube and heart monitor it would be too difficult. Looking down, she also noticed with surprise that she had an IV leading into either overly pale wrist. One's tube was attached to yet another machine at her bedside, the one in her left wrist capped off. _I suppose it's for if that one stops working... _

"I'm really stuck here..." She noted with a grimace as she looked at the three large machines around her. Though the NG tube was bothering her throat the amethyst-eyed girl didn't remove it- she didn't know how to stop the machine, and she knew she would most likely get in trouble (once the doctors got over her being awake, of course). Any further thoughts were put on halt when the door opened smoothly, a nurse coming in with a few cans of something Arme was unable to identify. The door shut behind her as she glanced up at the small girl in the bed, eyes widening. Arme stared back evenly, tilting her head to the side.

"Hello?" Arme commented politely, the questioning tone in her voice at the nurse's expression evident. The black haired nurse blinked several times before nodding slowly, opening the lid of one of the cans she held as she approached.

"You've woke up!" She said with surprise, Arme nodding. She watched as the nurse poured some sort of liquid into the bag leading to the NG tube, and the magician frowned.

"Can you take this out?" She asked, "I'm awake now..." The nurse bit her lip and shook her head, eyes down.

"We can't be certain how long you'll be... Awake for." She murmured quietly, "And it would just have to go back in when you went unconcious." Arme sighed, nodding.

"Now please excuse me, I've been strictly instructed to inform the doctor and your family when you awoke." The violet haired girl's eyebrows raised, and she looked at the black haired girl questioningly.

"It must be too early to call them, can't you wait until the morning?" Arme questioned. The nurse shook her head again.

"You've been asleep for nearly three and a half months... It's terribly urgent that the doctor sees you as soon as possible." Arme's mouth gaped open for a second; she closed it soon after. _Well, I suppose that makes sense. Almost two months had passed in Bermesiah... I hope I'm awake before Elesis, Ronan and Amy return... Wouldn't want to delay them __**again**__. _Arme's thoughts were quickly venturing off as the nurse walked out of the room, and she didn't bother to focus them. _Will Lass even notice I'm not really 'there'? After all, I had been sleeping an awful lot... If he doesn't notice, I suppose that's good. He'll at least be grateful he doesn't have to force me to stay on bedrest. _Another brief smile was brought to her face, and she closed her eyes. _Now, what can I do here to pass the time? So long as I stay calm, It'll all be fine. _Quick footsteps were heard, and Arme was soon aware that the nurse was coming back. She sat up the best she could to see when the girl opened the door, and was surprised to see a doctor following her. He too stared at Arme for a few seconds before entering the room, standard clipboard in hand.

"Good morning, Arme." He started conversationally, walking over to the bedside and pulling a chair over. Arme simply nodded a reply, looking at him curiously.

"It's a good thing I was staying late to work on some paperwork..." He murmured, "But in any event! How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." The girl responded plainly, "Though I would be better if someone would take out this NG tube..." The doctor laughed quietly, reaching to the bedside table to grab a pen.

"It's good to see you still have a sense of humor!" He commented. _I was being serious... _The purple haired girl frowned, but she didn't voice her thought.

"Now, Arme... I'm going to ask you all the standard questions." The short girl nodded absentmindedly, not even looking at the doctor. _When am I going to wake up...?_

* * *

Hours later the sun began to glow through the window into the room of the still-awake magician. She stared blankly ahead, leaning into the pillows stacked up behind her. It was strange how _dead_ she felt, despite what the doctor had told her.

_"Arme. several times during your unconsciousness you experienced a severe improvement in your condition! These improvements faded after a few days, but it was something we most certainly didn't encounter in the other patients. Your illness is, in fact, looking much better than both previous patients. If we can just figure out what triggered these improvements, we may be on the brink of a cure! Your mother has been informed that you have regained consciousness, she should be here in a few hours." _At this news Arme had simply nodded, something inside her unable to find enthusiasm. The doctor had noticed this with a frown, but he didn't bring the discussion any further.

_"If you need anyone, you know how to get a hold of us..." _He had gestured vaguely at the nurse call button before leaving the violet haired girl to her thoughts. Unable to deal with the complete silence, Arme had turned the television on with minimal volume. Mindless cartoons played out in front of her, but all she really cared was that they provided a background noise. _Aren't you supposed to be __**happy**__ you've woken up? _A small voice in the back of her thoughts scolded quietly. Arme didn't bother to humor the idea with guilt; she couldn't even pretend she had been happy to see the bright white walls. _I wonder if the other patients were like this too... _Something in her mind clicked at that point, and Arme shot up. _The other patients! I never thought of them before, but... does that mean they were in Bermesiah as well? _She wondered. The nurse call button was pressed; Arme waited impatiently for the girl clothed in white to return. When the door opened it wasn't the same girl from before that returned, this time a short male with brown hair.

"Would you like to order breakfast?" He asked kindly.

"No! Well... Yes, but that's not really the most important thing right now!" She exclaimed, blushing as her stomach gave a light rumble. The nurse laughed and handed her a menu, tilting his head to the side.

"What is the most important thing now?" He questioned curiously, sorting out the already-sorted 'get well soon' cards that were lined up on the small shelf.

"I want to know about the previous patients!" Arme demanded, checking through the menu to finally check off for some strawberry waffles that were looking rather appetizing at the moment. The nurse frowned at this, accepting the list when she was done with it.

"I'm not so sure that's possible, but I'll do my best to find out..." Arme blinked.

"Why not?"

"Confidentiality. Seeing as both patients died we would need to get permission from a living relative to show you the files... But if it's important to you, they might not have a problem with it." Arme nodded energetically, "Thank you! It is very important..." The nurse nodded as well.

"As are these waffles! Now I'll go place the order, it should be up in under half an hour." When the young man left the room Arme sighed, looking around the room. _A book would be nice... _She thought, _seeing as I'm seriously doubting magic practice'll go over well in this place. _She halfheartedly held out her left hand, hardly making an attempt to summon anything. Nothing came, and Arme laughed gently. _Of course I haven't been able to summon anything here for 15 years, there's no reason it would change now. _A theme to a show she vaguely remembered began to play, and Arme hummed along with it quietly. She felt somewhat immature, and a smile came to her face slowly. _If any of the chasers were here, they'd laugh at my childishness..._ She thought, the smile on her face widening sadly. _Do I really miss them that much already? Every other thought seems to be about them... _With a shrug she brought her attention back to the T.V, watching the figures move across the screen in lazy patterns. _There's no use dwelling on it... _Watching the spinning and twisting actors on the screen was rather soothing, and Arme only realized she was falling asleep when the door creaked open and the nurse re-entered with a tray of food.

"Waffles are here!" He announced, setting them down on the bedside table.

"Thanks..." Arme acknowledged the food sleepily, sitting up and pulling the tray into her lap. The nurse watched until she seemed she wasn't about to fall into her food before he turned back out of the room with a wave.

"Enjoy, and leave your tray on the bedside table when you finish!" He instructed, the door swinging shut behind him before Arme even had a chance to nod. Shrugging, Arme sliced off a small piece of the waffle and stuck it in her mouth. _Almost like short cake... Almost. _Still, the taste was delicious. She finished the rest of her plate quickly before setting it down on the night stand to turn her attention back to where the figures were still dancing on the screen. _Wonder if I could dance like that? _Armethought tiredly, her head nearly consumed as she leaned further back into the pillows. It wasn't long before light, rhythmicbreaths filled the room, amethyst eyes sliding shut. Every few minutes they would flicker open in a vain attempt to keep herself awake, though she quickly gave up on even that. She only truly noticed she had fallen asleep when the creek of the door woke her up, and she rubbed her eyes lazily. The girl wasn't overly surprised when her mother entered the room, flinging herself at her daughter. After she had been held in a tight hug for a minute her mother backed up, looking at her with watery, blue eyes.

"You're finally awake... I'm so sorry I wasn't here when you woke up! Work was calling, and I couldn't just keep putting it off..." Arme nodded.

"It's all right, I'm fine!" She said with as much emotion as she could muster. It seemed to be enough for her mother, who smiled.

"If you're sure... Oh! I don't think you were able to see this yet, but..." The amethyst haired woman walked quickly over to the shelf where cards were placed, and she returned with a small box Arme hadn't noticed previously.

"Your father sent this over, and he called to say he can come home in a few months!" The magician blinked and nodded, curiously reaching for the box. When her mother noticed she handed it over, allowing Arme to cautiously unwrap it (a habit she had picked up years ago). When the lid was lifted off Arme was suprised to be looking into the box at a small, beigish red rock. She picked it up and flipped it over in her hand several times before a smile came to her face.

"Where's this one from?" She asked, holding it up to the light.

"Egypt." Her mother replied, watching when Arme stopped spinning the rock in her hand. Arme nodded; her father's job led him to several different countries and continents around the world, and he always made it a priority to send something home for his daughter. Closing her eyes, the short girl remembered when she had began to get the souvenirs.

* * *

_The house was nearly silent as a four-year old Arme made her way cautiously down the staircase, keeping quiet as to not wake her mother on the floor above. When her little feet made it to the floor she stood up, walking with determination in her step that one could only assume wasn't normal for someone of her age. The toddler clothed in footed kitty pajamas continued on until she was standing in the archway to the front hall, wide amethyst eyes staring unwaveringly up. The man with shoulder length black hair standing next to the coatrack was the one her gaze was directed at, and he had slipped on his coat before he noticed the little girl._

_"Arme!" He exclaimed, walking over to the little girl to pick her up, "What are you doing? You should be asleep right now..." The petite child wrapped her arms tightly around her father, burying her head in his shoulder. _

_"You're going away for a while, right Daddy?" She asked. Her english was much better than one would expect of a four-year old, attributed to the large amounts of time she had been kept in bed with nothing to do but listen to her mother read. The man nodded, patting her hair._

_"I'll be back soon though, dearest..." He murmured, "So you should hurry back up to bed before Mommy catches you!" The little girl giggled, yet looked back at him earnestly. Her innocent amethyst eyes stared into his darker ones, the one piece of her physical appearance she had inherited from her father. _

_"Can I come with you, Daddy? I'll hide in your briefcase so people won't even notice me, and I won't bother you, pwomise! Mommy says I'm too sick to go with you, but I'll be fine!" She proclaimed seriously. The black haired man stared at her for a minute before he began laughing, and he set her back down. _

_"I'm not sticking you in a briefcase, silly." At this little Arme pouted, looking up at him determinedly. _

_"But Daddy, I'm tired of staying in bed all the time! I wanna go with you!" She insisted, tugging on his pant leg. Her father kneeled down to look at her, patting her head again. _

_"Now, what's such a sad expression doing on your pretty face? How about this? I'll bring you back something from where I'm going, and that way it'll be kinda like you were there with me!" Arme blinked, staring up at him skeptically._

_"Really?" The man nodded, standing up. Arme tugged on his pant leg again lightly, eyes down. _

_"I don't believe you. I won't remember it! And I'll haveta wait in bed and do nothing again..." Her father frowned lightly, a finger coming to his lips as he thought. When an idea came to him it was obvious, a sparkle in his eyes that was also rather characteristic of his daughter. _

_"You won't have nothing to do. You're going to have to make me a souvenir too, you know? After all, I want to know what's going on here with you too!" Arme tilted her head in confusion._

_"Sou... Souwvineer?" She questioned, eyes growing wide with curiosity. The black haired man nodded. _

_"It's like a gift, but from a place someone else is. Something you keep afterwards to remind you of that place," He explained vaguely, "... Kind of." Arme pursed her small lips, blinking. _

_"Alright, then. But you gotta get me something real good, cuz I'm gonna make you the best swouvineer you've ever had!" _

_"__**Sou**__venir." He corrected with a light laugh, "Now off to bed. I'll be back before you know it!" Arme's small eyes opened widely, giving a small gasp._

_"Not too fast though, right? I need to make your swou.. Swo... Gift!" _

_"Of course. Good night, dearest..." He kissed her lightly on the forehead before turning out the door, Arme watching him until the white, wooden door closed quietly behind him. When he was gone she scampered quietly up the staircase, wobbling lightly as she made her way back to her room. When she made it back the girl crawled under the covers, hugging her plushies and toys to her tightly. Her eyes didn't close, though; they never did of their own accord. She stayed silent as to not wake her sleeping mother in the rocking chair next to the bed, and fought sleep until she could no longer keep her heavy eyelids from closing. _

_

* * *

_

Holding the stone tightly in her hand, Arme looked at it once more before placing it back into the opened box. After setting it inside she placed the box back on the nightstand. _After that time, father wasn't able to come home often... But he never forgot my souvenirs... _She thought with a sigh, _as a child they meant the world to me_. Pulling herself out of her memories, Arme looked around. _What is there to do? _She wondered briefly, looking down at the sheets. A light laugh bubbled out at her next thought, _And what's really so different from being here to being in Bermesiah right now? Either way all I'm doing is lying in bed. _Arme knew without much thought the most important difference; the people around her. _But... Shouldn't I be enjoying the time I'm spending here too, then? It's not as though I'll never go back... Right? _She could feel her mother's confused stare on her, but didn't want to look back. _If I do, will she know that I'm not happy? _That thought in itself was enough to make her sigh. Folding her fingers together, Arme was surprised to hear the sound of the cartoon still playing in the background. She made no attempt to turn it off; neither did her mother.

_You're not even stopping to consider the possibility you won't wake up in Bermesiah again, are you? _A small voice in the back of her head asked. Arme shook it off easily; _Of course not. If I do that... _She shuddered lightly, remembering the heart-wrenching pain she had felt the last time she had woken up in the hospital. _I don't want to feel like that... Ever again. So I'll tell myself I'm going to wake up there with Lass next to me, and perhaps some of the others having returned. I'll just tell myself that over and over, until I believe it. What else can I do? _Her hand rested lightly on her chest, _Because at least believing doesn't hurt._

* * *

Arme woke the next morning slowly, sighing as she turned to the door, which had just been pushed open. Nothing interesting had happened the previous day, and the purple eyed girl had found herself dozing through most of it. Her mother had put on a movie at some point, though Arme could hardly remember what it was about. All she could really remember was ordering breakfast before she had fallen asleep, a nurse gently reminding her to take the pills on her bed stand before she had nodded off, her mother lying down on the small couch near the bed. The nurse standing in the door was the same as the previous morning's, and he held her tray cautiously as he walked into the room. Placing the tray onto the bed, the boy sighed.

"I've tried to get in contact with the parents of the other patients, but... Apparently the parents of one are dead, and the others refused to pick up the phone. I'll keep trying to contact them, but for now I haven't made much progress on your request." He told her apologetically. Arme simply nodded, taking a bite of the egg sandwich on her plate.

"S'okay... Thanks for trying." She said after swallowing the bite. The nurse glanced at her night table, picking up the pill container and opening it. When this was done the boy poured out two pills into the palm of his hand and gave them to her.

"And remember to take those, alright?" He said as he turned back to the door, leaving just as quickly as he'd entered. She sighed as she looked at the pills in her palm and the sandwich on the tray and sighed, picking up the small carton of milk next to it. _Pills never taste good... _She frowned as she took a sip of the milk, almost spilling it back out as she was reminded of Lass hiding her medicine in her food. A too-sudden image of him in a nurse outfit had the girl stifling laughter, a hand over her mouth as she tried to prevent herself from waking her mother or giving the rest of the hospital the impression she was going insane. When her chuckles were calmed she took a deep breath before attempting to take her pills again, this time suceeding. _Lass actually probably would make a good nurse, though... _She thought as she took another bite of her sandwich, _not only is he a good cook, he could easily put the patient's medicine in their food. _She smiled lightly, _"__I wouldn't have. I prefer your cooking." _Of course, getting him to agree to it would be difficult. By the time she heard her mother stir, Arme knew her cheeks were light pink hue from remembering the sort-of compliment (though she wasn't entirely sure it wasn't just Lass being lazy). She hurriedly finished off the rest of her sandwich, the violet haired patient half way finished with her milk by the time her mother had moved to stand next to the bed.

"You're done breakfast already?" She asked tiredly, rubbing her eyes. Arme nodded, watching as the woman turned to the door.

"I'm just going to grab something from the food court then, alright? I'll be back soon."

"Okay..." Arme responded quietly, placing her tray on the bed stand. Her mother left the room after a looking at her for a minute, a brief pause before she turned around and almost smacked into the door. Arme giggled lightly; it had always been obvious where her clumsiness had come from, even though her mother refused to admit it. When the older violet haired woman had left the room Arme sighed lazily, the window catching her eyes. She stared at the light shining through the curtains, a sudden need to see outside taking her by surprise. She sat there for another few minutes before she pressed the nurse call button, waiting only a few minutes before the brown haired nurse returned.

"Yes?" Arme looked at the window once again before she attempted to move her legs over the side of the bed. The nurse' eyes widened, and he ran over.

"You're not supposed to be getting up!" He exclaimed, frowning at her. Arme blinked slowly, not sure of what exactly to ask.

"I... I want to see outside." She finally murmured, looking over at the machines holding her to the bed. The nurse tilted his head for a second, holding a hand out to tell her to wait as he walked over to the door and looked out into the hallway.

"That can be arranged!" He said cheerfully, "but we'll have to bring your I.V. feed." Arme's eyebrows raised.

"What about the heart monitor and n.g. tube feed?" she asked, pointing to the yellow tube. The white clothed boy reached over to undo something, and Arme was surprised to see it detaching from the machine with a small cap on the open end. He typed in a couple things on the keypad before turning back to her, "Just pull the things that attach you to the heart monitior off and you'll be good to go!" He said with a smile. Arme nodded, and soon all the little, suction-cup like plastic pieces were pulled off her skin. She rubbed the area lightly before attempting to stand up again and was surprised to notice that the nurse had left the room. Shrugging, Arme moved the rolling I.V. feed off the hook that held it to the wall. She was about to walk over to the window when the door opened and the nurse returned, this time wheeling in a wheelchair.

"You shouldn't be standing up." He informed her with a sigh. The magician, in turn, was staring at the wheelchair disbelievingly.

"I can walk just fine!" She said, staring at it with a frown. The nurse shrugged, "I know, but it has to be done. After all, I'd be blamed for it if you fell unconcious in the middle of the halls somewhere." He joked lightly. Arme sighed, sitting in the the wheelchair regardless of her protests. The I.V. was grabbed and dragged along as the chair was maneuvered out the door, and Arme looked around.

"Where are we going?" She questioned, remembering quite suddenly as she saw the halls that her hospital had been changed, "there's a window in my room..."

"There's an observation window in the hall up ahead, it might be a bit better for you to see outside." he explained, nodding to a group of other nurses at a desk as they passed by.

"Oh..." Arme didn't bother continuing the conversation, waiting patiently as they passed through another door. Outside this was a hall, a glass wall on the right side and a green, fence-like material holding in the other side. There were large elevators in the hall leading from the left, though Arme's attention was quickly brought from them to the right side of the hall. Her eyes widened at the sight of the pale blue sky, light filtering in gently and casting a shadow of the wheelchair across the floor. Her eyes widened, and for a moment she remembered staring at the sky of Bermesiah from the window of her room back in the town she had first come to. Eyes closed slowly, and she could feel a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm heading back to the nurse's station, will you be alright here on your own?" The nurse asked. Arme nodded briefly before her eyes opened again, the sound of his footsteps oddly loud as he walked away. _Well, not everyone trys to conceal their footsteps like Lass... _She thought with a small smile, looking out the window again. There were clear differences between this sky and Bermesiah's; the one most prominant to her being the smog that came up in spiralling black billows from the chimneys of industreal buildings. Even so, it didn't stop the sky from reminding Arme painfully of the other world. _I can't even tell what feels more real any more... Am I just sleeping right now, and actually awake then? Or the other way around? But if so, that means the last fifteen years of my life..._Arme sighed, _I promised myself I wouldn't think about this. Just enjoy whatever time you have left, no matter where it is. _Still, when she opened her eyes she couldn't help but thinking about Bermesiah.

Staring down at her wrist and frowning at the I.V, Arme leaned against the handle of the wheelchair. _At least there I wasn't tied up to so many machines... I could actually sneak out of my room most of the time if I really needed to, even if it didn't make Lass very happy... _She could feel tears stinging against the corners of her eyes not so much from the thought of being stuck in a hospital bed, but from the thought of Lass and the others. She rubbed them away hastily, feeling miserable with herself. _**No more crying!**_ She scolded herself as forcefully as she could. Her body refused to listen, and soon tears were escaping her eyes quickly, leaving salty, warm trails down her cheeks as they dripped down to the collar of her hospital clothes. She pushed herself out of the wheelchair feebly, stepping forward to press her hands against the glass as she tilted her head up to look at the clearer part of the sky.

"I'm so weak..." She whispered quietly, "I said I wouldn't cry." Her forehead rested on the glass, and she waited impatiently for her tears to subside. _Why am I even crying? _A memory of the silver haired boy she'd grown close to over the past few months entered her mind, and more tears came out, _Oh. I remember now. _Her shoulders shook faintly, her hand pressing against her heart lightly as she ignored the pain from the stretching I.V. tube that was beginning to pull at her skin. _I guess I miss you, huh? _She stayed there, crying quietly for several minutes until she heard a voice from behind her.

"Arme! What are you doing up?" At the sound of her mother Armetried weakly to wipe all the tears from her amethyst eyes. Though it seemed to somewhat work, it did nothing for her slightly puffy eyes, a red colour that made them stand out vibrantly. The older violet haired woman turned her around gently, nearly gasping at the tear-streaked face of her daughter.

"Oh, honey... What happened?" She murmured, pulling Arme into a hug. The magician rested her head exhaustedly on her mother's shoulder, shaking her head lightly.

"N-nothing..." She mumbled, "I just don't feel so good, that's all." The taller of the two looked down disbelievingly, but she didn't say anything. Instead she walked the violet eyed girl back to her wheelchair, sitting her down in it carefully. Arme was wheeled slowly back to her room, and she curled up on her bed as the n.g. tube and heart monitor were re-attached. Even though she felt exhausted the girl couldn't will herself to fall asleep, most likely due to the fact that she had woken up less than an hour previous. Finally she sat up, looking over at a small stack of paper on the nearby shelf.

"Could you pass that?" She asked quietly, turning on the television. Her mother nodded, and soon three sheets were lying in front of her. A movie playing on the screen from the hospital's channel provided background music as she began to fold the first piece of paper.

* * *

_"Mommy?" Arme tugged on the edge of her mother's shirt gently, looking curiously up. _

_"Yes, sweetie?" The woman replied, glancing over from the sandwich she was currently cutting to her daughter, who was staring at her seriously. She blinked at the little girl's hands, a series of small nicks and cuts covering her small palms. _

_"Arme! What were you doing!" She gasped, grabbing the violet haired child's hand to stare curiously at the skin. Arme blushed lightly, looking down at her feet._

_"I... I need to make daddy a swouveneer." She said determinedly, "But the paper isn't going pretty, like the book says!" Arme sighed as her mother walked with her over to the table, where the little girl had previously been sitting. Lying on the table were several pieces of paper, small red smears on the edges and printed throughout from when she had apparently gotten paper cuts. An origami book lay to the side, opened to a page with brightly coloured paper folded into designs much more difficult than a four year old could be expected to comprehend. _

_"Dear, why don't you try an easier one?" Her mother reccomended, attempting to flip the page to something other than the elaborate paper dragon. Arme shook her head, pressing her hands to the book to prevent the page from turning the moment her mother had said 'easier'. _

_"__**No**__!" She said insistantly, "I pwomised daddy I would make him the __**best**__swouveneer! This one's best!" Her mother laughed lightly, picking up her daughter to set her on the table. _

_"Is it, now? I guess we'll have to make it for your father, then!" Normally this would have been unintelligent to tell a child, but Arme had never been slow. The previous attempts lying on the table were evidence to this, each a little further than the previous. Her parents had also learned from a early age that when Arme was determined, she was __**determined**__. Once the sandwich was finished her mother came back to sit down with her, slowly guiding the little girl through each of the steps. It only took two attempts with guidance for Arme to create a somewhat recognizeable dragon, which had caused the violet haired girl to clap and grin._

_"Did it, mommy! Now I have the __**best **__swouveneer!" She said proudly, pulling out a purple marker, "And it'll purple, like me! So daddy won't forget me, even when he's not here!" Her mother smiled gently, patting her on the head as she scribbled the colour in quickly. _

_"I'm sure daddy will be very proud of you, and he most certainly won't forget you while he's gone." She said, "But would you like to help with lunch now?" Arme nodded excitedly, hopping off the chair to run over to the counter. Her mother picked her up carefully, setting her down on the marble surface. _

_"I'm four now, so can I cut the veggies?" The little girl asked with large, hopeful eyes. The girl's mother laughed a little._

_"Hmm... I suppose so, if you're __**very**__careful!" She said, handing the girl a potato-peeler. At this Arme grinned widely, picking up the potato with a rather small hand._

_

* * *

_

Arme sighed, a smile coming to her face as she folded the familiar form of a dragon from the paper. _Nothing much has changed, I guess. Still being sat on counters and peeling vegetables... _Finished with the dragon, she set it down on the bed stand. _I miss those days. No confusion, no second worlds, no Grand Chase and no evil witches. Everything was simple... _Arme picked up another piece of paper, carefully folding it into a generic crane and placing it next to her dragon. A swan was soon to join, and Arme looked at them silently. _But then again, in those days there was also no Lass. _

The next six days passed slowly, and the violet haired girl slowly became more distraught as they went by. _Why haven't I woken up yet? _She though worriedly as she awoke, finding herself yet again in the white room. Biting her lip, the girl sighed. _Ready to start considering that you're not going to wake up? _The small voice asked quietly. It was the timidness in the thought that made Arme shake; a small, meek suggestion. It was easy enough to say no to something loud, but the thought sounded weak, and almost as hesitant as she was to even accept it. _N... No. I can't do that, not ever. I suppose... It's not like it can bother me for years, when I only have about one left to live. And if I only have that time... I'd rather spend it remembering than trying to forget. _She took a deep breath as she leaned back into the pillows, staring disheartenedly at the lights above. It was then that her vision began to blur, and Arme tried to refocus in vain. She didn't dare blink as the lights began to darken, everything seeming to change in a wave. The neat white panels were changing before her foggy vision, and a smoggy grey was quickly becoming the dominant colour in her vision. As things finally began to clear up, Arme could feel her heart begin to beat faster in her chest. _Is this... Either I'm hallucinating, or... _She didn't continue the thought, attempting to push herself up and off the pillows. The disorientation of the room made it seem like everything around her was spinning, and she simply fell back down on the pillows heavily. A hand raised to her cheek as the next best measure, and Arme was elated to find no n.g. tube. She took several breaths rather slowly and attempted sitting up again, closing her eyes as not to let the spinning world around her make her falter. When her body was completely in an upright position the magician opened her eyes again slowly, praying she was right in what was going on.

"**Someone **overslept." Arme's heart sped up as she saw the stone wall in front of her, even more so as she heard a rather recognizable voice. Turning her head slowly, she grinned widely as Lass came into view. He was staring at her somewhat skeptically, a frown on his face as he looked her over.

"Morning!" She chirped, unable to think of anything better to say, or to keep the hyper tone out of her voice. Her grin only widened as Lass rolled his eyes, then looked down at the blanket.

"See? I didn't kill her, so stop glaring at me!" He exclaimed, Arme blinking in confusion. It was then that she looked down to her lap, realizing quite suddenly that the Sidtri was lying down on her. It was looking at the assassin angrily, and cuddling up to Arme closely. The magician tilted her head, turning to look back at Lass.

"And what exactly is this about?" She asked quietly, petting the bird's soft feathers.

"Well, the sidtri returned three days ago, just before Ryan and Jin. It saw you asleep, and by the next day it naturally assumed **I **had done something to you." He muttered, sighing. This didn't faze Arme in the least, her grin still just as wide when the silver haired boy reached out to rest a hand on her head.

"You're okay though, right?" He asked seriously, sapphire eyes nearly glaring out their concern. Arme nodded, looking around.

"I would be better with a hug, though!" She said, grinning mischievously. The thief's eyes widened largely as he gaged whether or not the magician was joking, a light flush coming to his cheeks.

"You're kidding, right?" He asked after a minute, sighing as Arme shook her head. She was more than surprised when Lass actually reached forward to hug her ever so lightly, and the violet haired girl soon wrapped her arms around him happily. The sidtri seemed rather displeased to be in the center of all the hugging, and it gave a miserable sound before squirming out and off to cuddle at Arme's side.

"I missed you." Arme admitted sheepishly, trying to stop tears of relief from coming out. Lass chuckled.

"You were asleep, and you're the one saying **you **missed **me**?" He questioned incredulously. Arme nodded.

"Are you trying to say you missed me too?" She asked with a light laugh in her voice. Lass shook his head as he pulled away, a look on his face that assured them both he was lying.

"Of course not." Arme just smiled, trying to move up and out of the bed. There was a lot to catch up on.

* * *

A/N: Finally able to edit this! I'm so sorry about the long wait and the late chapters... Not to mention how sketchy this one is. I do have reasons, I swear! (Though most have to do with procrastination Dx) In any event, due to my internet card being full of fail I couldn't finish the chapter last weekend... (how many times has that happened by now? I don't even remember...) So, I got a new one! *waits for applause* ... That's a pretty big accomplishment for me o-o And I was quite honestly told I had 15 minutes to type and submit the end of this chapter before I went away for the weekend... (hence the sketchy) But anyways, the majority of the hospital-stuff in this chapter was based on my own 2 and 1/2 week visit to the hospital, where I wasn't in a ward even similar to the one Arme would be in... But anyways, the design is based on sick kids hospital (That place is an amazing hospital~) For those of you wondering, NG tube stands for Nasogastric tube. It's basically a tube that goes through your nose and into your stomach and attaches to a feed that food is sent through when you can't eat on your own (trust me, they're annoying as all hell. x_x)  
-Utsuro


	20. Catching Up

A/N: I'm sorry for the hasty update of the last chapter, the author's note is there and the pagebreaks have been added =3

Disclaimer: I will own Grand Chase when Willow-chan's radioactive llamas steal the deeds to it and I manage to beg them out of her. I wouldn't hold your breath waiting.

Chapter 19: Catching Up

* * *

The first thing Arme had learned upon standing up was that she was mostly healed.

_"Those four days of sleep actually really helped, despite you not taking your potion." _Lass had said, allowing Arme to quickly check her wound. She hadn't been expecting the skin to be only ever so slightly dented, light scarring around the spot and the bruise that was beginning to fade. The other bruises she had got from all of the fights that had occurred fairly recently were also beginning to fade, and Arme sighed in relief. It was nice to feel somewhat uninjured, even though Arme didn't doubt it was only temporary. Her excitement at being back in Bermesiah was more than enough to make up for the fact that she was beginning to believe it was inevitable that she would be damaged again.

The second thing Arme learned was that Jin and Ryan weren't currently in the castle, but Elesis, Ronan and Amy were. The three had returned the previous day, the six conscious members of the Grand Chase sitting down to have a discussion. In this discussion they had come to the realization that both of the members that had just collected their shards would have to go back to the guild to get their new weapons, which wouldn't take so long if they took the direct path back to town. This was followed by the realization that they would also need time to train with the new weapons. The first idea was that they all head back to the main house to wait for the druid and fighter; Elesis quickly dispelled this thought on the basis that they had already wasted too much time. A compromise had finally been made after several minutes of confusion; the two members were to head back and train for one week while the others moved on to the Ellia continent. They would then meet up in a selected village and regroup, heading to where Kaze'Aze's castle was. That would provide a good opprotunity to do a search of said castle to try and find leads as to where the witch had moved (if she had, in fact, moved at all).

_"Why would you think she's moved from her castle?" _Arme had asked curiously. Lass had sighed, seeming almost reluctant to answer the question. There was a minute of silence before he responded, voice quiet.

_"The last time we were there we had to retreat, but the castle was in shambles because of the fight." _The assassin replied, helping her off the bed. _Retreat? _Any questions she had wanted to ask about the issue were carefully avoided, and Arme had eventually given up on asking them. The two had made their way down the staircases rather quickly, Sidtri flying behind them as they made their way to the first floor, their current location. Arme gave a light wave to Ronan and Amy, who were sitting in two couches in the main room. They stared at her disbelievingly before Amy shot up and out of her chair, running over to the mage.

"Arme! Do you feel okay? You slept for a really long time, and I was told you-..." Her voice trailed off quietly, though Arme was unable to find out why, "But anyways! You're all better now, isn't that good news? Elena wasn't there to get the letter because she's on some sort of trip, but Ellyrine was taking over for her and she said that you using the pot was fine! You met Ellyrine when you went to the Serdin castle, if you remember? She even sent a book on it for you!" Arme blinked, eyes wide.

"How did she send a book?" At this question the Sidtri lighted down on her shoulder, chest puffing out proudly. Amy giggled, nodding as she pointed to the bird.

"Somehow Sidtri was able to carry it~ Which reminds me! Lass, tell her the good news!" The dancer exclaimed, fingers lacing together as a wide grin spread onto her face. When Arme looked over at Lass she felt the urge to do the same thing, his face twisted into an unusually deep frown. The white haired boy took a deep breath before responding ever so slowly, glaring at the beige and maroon bird on Arme's shoulder.

"Apparently that thing seemed rather... Impatient to send the return letter. That gave Ellyrine the **wonderful **idea that it wanted to be over here, which also caused her to conveniently remember that aside from Ronan's dragon, we really have no way to send letters. She therefore decided that the Sidtri will be travelling with us until further notice." He stated frustratedly, attempting to ignore the bird as it looked at him with an air of superiority. Arme smiled, then an expression of confusion crossed her face.

"W... Wait. That means you sent the first letter by **dragon**?" She cried, staring at Ronan.

"Well, the dragon is actually pretty fast so long as no one's riding on it, even if the Sidtri is faster. And really, we didn't have all that much time to waste." He explained, standing up as he looked over to the window, "Elesis'll be relieved to hear you're awake, I'll go let her know." He said, moving to the door. The other inhabitants of the room watched him leave before turning back to Arme, Lass still glaring at the Sidtri.

"So, when are we leaving?" The magician asked happily, more than ready to get on with their journey. Amy shrugged.

"Probably tomorrow, I'd like one last night in a decent bed before we go~ Unless, of course, you're not feeling well enough?" Arme shook her head quickly, looking over to the assassin to her left.

"Nah. Lass can probably remember how restless I was getting, and I don't think you want to deal with me on bedrest for any longer." Lass nodded in agreement, letting out a sigh.

"And how excited you were to cook. Speaking of which, I'm all for roasted Sidtri for dinner." The bird spread it's wings angrily, one at such a length it nearly hit Lass in the face.

"Or you could cook!" Arme exclaimed, watching as Lass glanced at Amy and let out an awkward laugh.

"Of course not! After all, we all know I can't cook." He said with an overly fake smile. The violet haired girl next to him rolled her eyes, petting the bird.

"Definitely! Now where would I have gotten that idea from?" She asked sarcastically.

"I feel like I'm not getting something!" Amy pouted, looking back and forth between the assassin and magician. This statement got a sigh from the two, one out of relief and one out of exasperation.

"Lass-" Arme started the sentence and then looked over to the white haired boy, who was staring at her pleadingly with a look that said something along the lines of 'I've-been-hiding-this-for-over-a-year-so-please-don't-give-me-away-and-make-me-cook-for-the-rest-of-my-life'. This look was also accompanied by possibly the most begging face Arme could ever expect to see on the face of the assassin, and the amethyst eyed girl sighed.

"Wanted me to tell you he likes your cooking." She finished lamely. What followed this was a complete minute of silence, Lass staring at Arme with an expression disbelief (most likely due to her less-than-convincing sentence change), Amy staring at Lass with an expression of confusion, and Arme looking back at the two with a somewhat embarrased smile. After a moment Amy coughed lightly.

"Well! Uhm... Thanks, Lass!" The dancer said, looking over at Arme with raised eyebrows.

"No problem." The white haired boy responded quietly, moving to lean against the wall near the door, "But just so we're clear on everything, any questions, Arme?" The magician was silent for a moment as she contemplated Lass' questions. The first that came up were among _"Why was I sleeping one moment and in the hospital the next?" _and _"Does anyone know what's __**actually **__going on here?"_, though she silenced them to ask something slightly less pressing.

"You said Jin and Ryan went back to practice their weapons... I have a new weapon too. Why didn't I get sent back with them?" Lass answered immediately.

"Because I have enough trouble keeping you safe when I'm **right here**, and I have therefore decided you're not allowed to be more than a few feet away from me at any given time. I'm not going back with them, so neither are you." Arme blinked slowly, both herself and Amy turning to stare at the assassin, who was looking back at them somewhat disinterestedly.

"Well, that and the fact that we weren't sure when you were going to wake up, and we didn't want to delay their departure." He admitted a few seconds later, "So we figured it would be faster to just send them and wait here until you woke up." Arme nodded, face turning red from his previous comment.

"Wh-why didn't they just collect their shards with you?" Was all she managed to make out after a few more seconds of silence, Amy the one to answer.

"Well, when we were sorting everything out for our month long break Jin didn't want me going out to do my shows alone~ Ryan said he had something he needed to do and he kinda left before we had a chance to discuss it all with him... Lass was just going to wait for them, but in the end he decided to just go collect shards alone because he had nothing else to do for the month. It's a good thing he did, too~!" The rose haired girl said, grinning as she looked at Arme. The front door creaked open, capturing the attention of the three inhabitants of the room as Elesis burst in with Ronan in tow. With wide crimson eyes she looked over Arme several times before letting out a sigh, placing the back of her hand on her hip.

"Arme, are you feeling alright?" She asked, receiving a slight nod from the magician. Amy giggled, leaning over to whisper in Arme's ear.

"Elesis was worried." Elesis huffed indignantly, face turning slightly red.

"I was not!" She insisted, Amy nodding.

"Just like you weren't worried when Jin almost broke his leg a couple months ago? Or when Ronan caught a fever and you-"

"Shut up!" Elesis' cheeks were a bright red when she nearly hit the muse in the face in an attempt to get her to end her sentence, fist mere inches away when Amy ducked and backed away, laughing and smiling.

"I'm going outside before Elesis tries to kill me, bye bye~!" Amy called back cheerfully, skipping out the second door to the room while the other chasers watched her. When the dancer was completely out of the room Elesis gave an irritated sigh, looking back at Arme.

"I'd tell you to get rested up for our departure, but I guess you've already covered that." The spear maiden said briefly, "So be ready to leave early tomorrow." She promptly left the room, turning back out the way she had come.

"What... Did she do?" Arme asked Ronan slowly, eyes on the amused-looking dragon knight.

"I was pretty sick so I don't remember it all that well, but from what I've heard Elesis tried to make some soup... All I really remember was drinking it." He said this with a shudder, looking over to Lass.

"Yeah. His face went so blue... We called Ellyrine right away because we were already at the Serdin Castle, and at first she thought someone had given him a vial of rat poison. It took longer to fix that than it would have taken the fever to go away..." The assassin recalled with a chuckle.

"Well, at least she tried something! And she did feel pretty bad about the whole thing after, so..." He trailed off quietly, turning back to the door where Elesis had gone off.

"I'm off to see what she's up to, when she's upset she tends to get a bit... Destructive." The knight finished, brushing a strand of blue hair behind his ear as he turned to follow the fiery-tempered sword-wielder. This left Lass and Arme, the magician stretching.

"What time is it?" She asked after a moment, looking out the window. Lass shrugged.

"Probably around five in the afternoon, I'd guess. What are you planning to do?" Arme looked at him as though it should have been obvious, glancing over at the stairwell.

"I'm going to the library, of course! We're leaving soon and I haven't gotten to read **anything**!" The assassin nodded, following the violet girl as she began to walk up the staircase. At the third floor Arme hesitated, unable to locate the staircase. Lass took the lead quickly, moving past the magician and motioning for her to follow him. With the silvery haired boy guiding her they made it to the intended room in less than a minute, Arme running over to the staircase she had been at the first time she entered the library. Lifting up and off of her shoulder, the Sidtri quickly flew up to the top of the bookshelves to look over the entire room. After selecting two thick volumes Arme hoped she could finish before they had to leave, the magician made her way over to one of the couches. Lass took a seat on a couch a few spots over from her leisurely a moment later, a light book in Bermesian sitting in his hand. After a moment of reading Arme glanced up to where the assassin was sitting, blinking slowly. The book was open on his lap, but sapphire orbs weren't focused on the pages, instead resting on the purple haired girl. His gaze didn't waver even when she stared back, and eventually Arme gave up their small staring contest in favour of continuing her book. She remained uncomfortably aware of the silver haired boy's gaze on her even as she read, and after a moment the magician set her book back down on her lap.

"Lass?" The addressed boy nodded, still watching her lazily.

"Were you serious?" Lass' hair swayed lightly as he tilted his head.

"About...?" This was where Arme hesitated for a moment, cheeks flushing again.

"About the whole me not being allowed to be more than a few feet away from you thing!" She exclaimed after a minute, pulling her book closer. There was a pause before Lass replied, blinking slowly.

"Pretty much. Until everything stops targeting you, at least..." Arme gave a light, hesitant nod.

"B-but what about going to the washroom? And sleeping? And-" The assassin cut her off with a sigh and a roll of his eyes.

"There are some exceptions, of course. You-" Before Lass could finish his sentence a large crack sounded from the floor his sofa, and within a second the entire couch had fallen down and into the room below.

"**Lass!**" Arme's eyes widened as she ran over to the hole, still trying to grasp the abrupt event. Lass himself appeared slightly shocked, though otherwise uninjured. The sofa itself lay in cracked pieces around him, the impact having broken it.

"I'm fine." He replied after a moment, jumping back up to grasp the floor of the library and swing himself through the rather large hole, "But you should get further away. The ground'll be pretty weak around here now." Offering out a hand to help Lass up, she wasn't surprised when he ignored it. The book he had been looking at was somewhere underneath the couch below, though Lass didn't seem to care. He was more occupied with pulling Arme over to the other seating area, and he made sure she was properly seated before stepping back.

"This place is falling apart, like I told you when we came here. I'm pretty surprised that it happened to me and not you, though... You don't seem to be very lucky when it comes to things like this." Arme nodded with a sigh, waiting for Lass to sit back down before she opened the volume up again. Azure eyes were still watching her, and even though Arme had become somewhat accustomed to Lass' stare it made her feel odd.

"Lass?"

"Mm-hmm?" Arme took a deep breath before continuing.

"Why are you staring at me?" She inquired, not quite certain of what answer she was expecting. Lass didn't look to be entirely certain of the answer either, but he still didn't look away. Arme had almost given up on receiving one and started reading her book before the assassin's voice filled the room quietly.

"Because I don't want anything to happen to you. When we were fighting the Gorgos... I had only looked away for a second when you were bitten. I take my eyes off you again in the forest and you get mauled by a troll... Then the harpies... Followed by you starting to pull bombs out of pots... I'm not taking any more chances." He stood up again with another sigh, "And those are just the major injuries." Arme laced her fingers together, looking down at them guiltily.

"I'm sorry..." She whispered, closing her eyes, "I don't mean to make you worry, honest..."

"Hey." Arme glanced up from her hands to look at Lass, "Don't worry about it. I'm not going to let anything like that happen to you again." Arme couldn't help the small smile that pulled across her face when the silver haired boy said this, and she quickly looked back down to her book in an attempt to hide her embarrasment.

"Thanks..." She said quietly in response, trying to focus on the sentences before her. Lass didn't respond, sitting back down in the chair he had been in moments before. Silence filled the room for less than a minute before footsteps were heard rushing through the halls, and a second later Elesis and Ronan burst into the library.

"What was that crash?" Elesis demanded, glancing back and forth between Lass and Arme. Ronan had noticed the hole in the floor several feet away, and he walked cautiously towards it before Elesis caught on.

"Lass was sitting on the couch and it fell through the floor." Arme explained, still reading. It wasn't long before chuckles filled the room, and Arme looked up from her book to see Elesis holding her stomach as she laughed hysterically.

"... What?" The purple haired girl asked after a minute when the laughter failed to cease. The others in the room seemed just as confused as Elesis took deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself, finally wiping a tear away from her eye as she stood up straight again.

"You're telling me Lass sat on a couch and it fell through a stone floor? Seriously, Lass, you need to lay off the pie!" Elesis began to laugh again, Arme's giggles joining in a moment later despite the glare coming from the silver haired boy.

"The floors really are weak, then... It would be nice if we could fix this castle up some day." Ronan remarked idly, ignoring the laughter from the two females in the room as he kneeled down to check the edges of the floor around the hole.

"We did quite a bit the last time we were here, though... Otherwise there wouldn't be running water." Elesis commented once she'd calmed down again, walking over to join Ronan.

"That's true, but still... This place has a lot of work that needs to be done. It was so beautiful in the past..." Arme nodded in agreement, receiving a surprised glance from the others in the room.

"It was built about five hundred and fifty years ago for Sieghart the Legend, so they still had accounts of it in Old Bermesian." The magician explained, continuing her book. With a shrug, Elesis stretched.

"Well, we just came upstairs to make sure you guys weren't being attacked or anything. I'm headed back down, I'll see you two at dinner?" Arme and Lass nodded, Ronan turning to follow the crimson haired knight out the doors. The violet haired girl still had a small smile on her face as she flipped through the pages, trying to get through the book as quickly as possible.

* * *

"Arme?"

"Mm-hm?" The amethyst eyed female looked up from her page at the sound of Lass' voice, turning to where the white haired boy was sitting.

"It's about six." He informed her, "And the ingredients from lunch should still be good." Arme nodded, folding the corner of her page and setting it down on the small table in the middle of the circle of chairs. Glancing up to the top of the bookshelf allowed her the knowledge that the Sidtri had fallen asleep, and she walked over to shake the shelf lightly.

"Or," Lass continued as the bird roused, "We could always cook the Sidtri. As previously stated, I'm good with that." Arme giggled as the cream coloured bird hefted itself up and off the shelf, lighting down on her shoulder moments later.

"We're not cooking the Sidtri, Lass." She said, turning back to him as the fowl curled up sleepily, "But food really does sound good right now... I haven't eaten in four days." The assassin shrugged, leading the way down several stair cases and to the kitchen. Looking over the foods in front of her, Arme turned to look at Lass with a smile.

"And you're going to help me cook, right?" She questioned, smile changing to a light frown as Lass shook his head.

"Didn't you want to cook?" He asked as he moved to sit at the table, from where he could still see her. Pressing a knuckle to her lips for a second, Arme's grin returned.

"But Lass, I can't cook with the pot! And you never know what I'll set on fire without supervision!" The magician exclaimed.

"You have supervision, I'm sitting right here. And you don't need the pot, just use the frying pan." He explained, not moving. Arme huffed, crossing her arms.

"But I want you to cook with me! It gets boring cooking alone!" She complained, walking over to tug on the silver haired boy's arm in an attempt to pull him off the table.

"Can't you cook with Amy, then?" Lass questioned, not budging from his spot. Arme pouted further, releasing his arm.

"Please, Lass? I wanna cook with **you**!" She insisted. Silence filled the room for a few seconds before the azure eyed boy sighed and pushed himself off the table.

"I'm not cooking when we're travelling, though." He warned as he stepped into the kitchen, followed by the magician a moment later.

"Thanks, Lassie!" Arme cheered, clapping her hands together excitedly. The Sidtri had by that point realized that Lass would be joining himself and Arme, and he flew off her shoulder displeasedly to perch on the edge of the counter as the two chasers began washing and preparing the ingredients.

"So, I'll just be training on the go?" Arme asked when her eyes passed over the pot, receiving a nod from Lass in reply.

"You should probably start reading that alchemist's handbook as well." Lass suggested, slicing the various fruits up as Arme pulled out a large bowl from under the cupboard and rinsed it out.

"I'll do that after dinner!" The magician said as she grabbed the head of lettuce and rinsed it off as well, tearing off leaves of the vegetable to add them to the bowl. When this was finished she walked over to where the silver haired boy had cut up the fruits. They were also added to the bowl of lettuce, a few spices from the cupboard mixed together and included to make a rather simple salad.

"Hm... Do we have anything else that can go with this?" She asked after a moment, stirring the salad.

"Amy hid some of the harpy meat from lunch in one of the cupboards, it'd have to be re-heated." The assassin replied, beginning to open the cupboard doors.

"That'll work, can you find it for me?" Arme requested as she pulled out the frying pan, adding a dash of water before she placed it on the stove. Nodding, Lass handed her the meat a moment later. It was quickly heated up and put on a plate next to the salad, which had been placed on the table minutes early.

"Dinner's ready?" Arme looked over from the cupboard to see Elesis standing in the doorway of the eating room, blinking slowly as she stared at the food.

"Yeah, could you call Amy and Ronan?" The shorter girl asked as she began setting five places. The redhead nodded, "I'll be back in a minute!" Arme took her seat as Elesis shot out of the room, and her footsteps were heard thundering down the staircase as she ran to find the other two members of the chase. Lass sat down in the seat across from her, not bothering to wait for the Grand Chase's leader to return before he took a piece of harpy meat to stick on his own plate.

"Shouldn't you..."

"Wait? Not unless you're not planning on getting any meat." The assassin cut Arme off before she could finish, and the magician laughed quietly. The Sidtri came out of the kitchen as Arme began to put food on her own plate, resting on the table next to her to drag a piece of meat off her plate and onto the table.

"That thing's stealing your food..." Lass commented aggravatedly, glaring at the animal. It glared back as it took a bite of the meat, expression changing only to a calmer one when Arme patted it's head.

"That's fine! There's plenty to go around!" She grinned as she continued eating, taking a bite of her meat as Elesis ran back into the room.

"You started eating without me!" She exclaimed, running for her chair as Ronan and Amy entered behind her in a slightly more calm manner. Once everyone was seated Arme was the first to start a conversation, poking a fork into her salad.

"So, we're going to... The Ellia continent?" Ronan nodded, looking up at her through indigo eyes.

"How long is it gonna take us to get there? We're meeting up with Jin and Ryan in a week, right?" Elesis was the one that responded moments later, mouth still full of harpy meat when she spoke.

"It'll take a day to get to the harbour, but by boat it'll only take us a few hours to get across Partusay's Sea. From there..." She stopped speaking when she realized Arme's eyes had widened.

"We're taking a boat?" The magician asked excitedly, staring at the spearmaiden. Elesis nodded.

"Unless you can think of another way to cross. Ronan's dragon can't take all of us in one trip, and that would take too long for us to go on separate trips." A wide grin spread across Arme's face, and she continued eating energetically.

"You look excited." Lass observed as he finished with his food, placing his utensils across his plate as he stood up. Arme nodded several times.

"I've never been on one before! I always wanted to travel!" She smiled, receiving a stare from Elesis.

"Aren't you already travelling?" She questioned, finishing with what seemed to be an overly large portion of harpy meat and reaching for more.

"But this is travelling on a **boat**!" The lilac haired female emphasized, eyes sparkling brightly.

"Well, I'm not a fan of boats, but..." Elesis sighed. Arme tilted her head, looking at the cherry haired girl in confusion.

"You don't like them?" Arme asked, getting a nod from Elesis.

"The last boat I was in capsized. On Partusay's Sea." The redhead stated briefly, causing Arme to frown.

"Don't say that, Elesis!" Amy chided, "That was only because Partusay was rampaging!"

"Doesn't change the fact I almost drowned..." Elesis muttered, getting a smile from Ronan.

"It'll all go fine, Elesis. It would go better if you'd let one of us teach you how to swim, though." The scarlet female blushed and shook her head, leaving her plate on the table as she turned to leave the room. Amy followed a few minutes later, albeit she put her plate in the kitchen before exiting. Arme, finished before Ronan, moved into the kitchen to wash up the dishes before moving on with her day. This didn't take long, Lass watching from the table. When everything was back in it's place Arme left the kitchen with the pot in hand, the assassin following behind her.

"Where to now?" He asked, moving slightly over to avoid the Sidtri as it flew behind Arme.

"The book's in my room, right?" She waited for Lass to nod before continuing.

"I was thinking of picking it up then going to read in Amy's room, I haven't gotten to talk to her very much since she got back." Lass chuckled quietly and nodded, shrugging.

"If you think you can get any reading done with Amy in the room, it's a good plan." He agreed, "Though I personally don't understand how Jin can get anything done spending his time around her." Arme smiled.

"I think I'll be able to get enough read." The conversation fell silent after this, Arme grabbing her book from her room before looking to the left and right in the hall.

"Do you even know where Amy's room is?" Lass asked after a second, watching as Arme shook her head. The assassin sighed before grabbing her arm, pulling her up the nearby staircase.

"I think I know where her room is... You should really think to figure this stuff out **before **you make a plan."

"W-well I'm sure I could find it on my own!" Arme proclaimed defensively.

"Arme, there are almost one hundred rooms in this castle. Good luck with that." Blinking, Arme allowed herself to be dragged along with the silver haired thief until they reached a room that stood out a fair bit.

"Oh, come on! I totally coulda found this on my own!" Arme exclaimed as she stared at the room with a bright pink piece of paper, 'Amy' scrawled in a hot pink across it in Bermesian. Quiet singing could be heard coming from inside, and Lass shrugged.

"I wasn't expecting her to put this sign up." He reminded her, watching as Arme knocked and reached out to turn the door knob. A voice came from inside the room, but Arme was unable to make it out until she had stepped into the room. When she did the magician blinked in confusion; Amy was sitting on the floor, various screws, pieces of metal, a book and a long, staff-like object lying infront of her. Lass, staring from behind Arme, placed a hand on her head before turning around.

"Well, I'll be going." The assassin murmured, "I trust Amy to not let you fall down the staircase or anything of the likes. I hope." With this Lass walked away, leaving Arme to walk into the room and over to Amy, who was looking at her in surprise.

"O-oh! Hey, Arme!" The muse greeted, still looking at Arme as she sat down.

"What are you doing?" The magician asked curiously, looking at the supplies, "that looks like a really long staff! Planning on becoming a magician?" Amy shook her head.

"Nope~ Well... I suppose it couldn't hurt to show you! I was planning on talking to you about this some time anyways~"' Picking up the long, staff-like piece with a large, purple orb at the end, she turned it into a four-pronged piece of metal. Pushing herself up off the ground and setting down the object, Arme then realized it was somewhat more of a microphone.

"That's..."

"A kleiophone~!" Amy exclaimed, spinning around with it, "but it's not done yet~" Arme nodded slowly.

"So... What does it do?" Amy paused in her spinning, almost dance to look over at the violet girl, tilting her head and pursing her lips.

"Well... You know how classes have stages and all that?" Arme nodded again.

"I'm a dancer, so... I don't really have that. In other words, there are no other dancers. I have no set classes, so I have more of a... Freedom? When it comes to my classes. It means it takes a bit more effort to get a weapon, and to make that weapon work in battle. I just basically... Think of skills I have, and try to manipulate them into a job. This one is kind of like a microphone, but... More deadly. Ish. I named it~" Arme continued her nodding, still somewhat confused.

"How are you going to fight with that?" She asked after a moment, watching as Amy twisted off the purple orb and showed her the oddly-shaped end of the pole.

"I started this with the base of a microphone when we were back at the main house~! After coating it with a couple more layers so it would be stronger, I upped the audio frequency it could get to~ Meaning if you turn this," Amy gestured to a pink piece of metal wrapping around the upper part of the kleiophone, "can go up to thirty thousand hertz." Arme's mouth gaped open as Amy spiralled the sphere back on.

"Thirty thousand? Amy, that's... Really high!" Arme exclaimed, remembering vaguely having read something about sound frequencies. Amy nodded, a pleased grin coming across her face.

"The good thing is that 'cuz it's so high it won't be a distraction on the battlefield, but monsters can hear it perfectly well! And since it's re enforced, it can also be used for bashing monsters in the head~!" Arme laughed quietly, then looked over the kleiophone.

"What's left to add to it?" She asked after a second, sitting on the bed.

"Mainly decoration, but I was also planning on asking you if you could do something for me~"

"What?" Arme asked after a second, "I don't see what I could do to help here..." Amy held out the weapon before explaining, allowing the magician to take it from her after she had set down the pot.

"I wanted to ask if you could leak some mana into it~!" Amy exclaimed, watching Arme's expression change from confusion to understanding. Mana leaking had also been something she had read about over the past month; adding magical qualities to an otherwise normal object. The form it would take would depend on the wielder's powers and ambition, but more often than not it would end up enhancing the powers of an item or weapon.

"I... I've never done this before, but I can try..." Arme murmured pressing her hand onto the periwinkle orb.

"Thanks! Normally we go to Ronan if we need magic added to anything, but I have a feeling your mana is more powerful than his~" Arme smiled, cheeks turning slightly pink from being complemented.

"Ronan is also probably better at this, though..." She said, watching as the orb began to glow, a bright, amethyst shine coming from deep within the sphere. _Stay focused... _The glow in the center was slowly growing, and it looked as though it was about to overflow when Arme released, letting out a large breath.

"I... I think it worked." She said quietly, handing the kleiophone back to the excited muse. When it left the violet haried girl's hand the glowing dimmed significantly, a pale, small coral glow eminating from the core.

"Ooh! This looks good!" Amy exclaimed, spinning the stand around again. The glow brightened with each word, paling out when she again became silent. Amy grinned as she noticed this, looking back over to Arme.

"It's pretty!" She called as she sat down again, looking over various pieces of pink and gold metal that littered the area, "I'm going to try to finish it tonight~ What did you come here for~?" Arme lifted up her book to show Amy the cover, "I thought I'd read in here for a while. Is that alright with you?" The muse nodded, back to the task of working on her kleiophone. Shrugging, Arme stretched and lay down on the bed on her stomach, lifting the pot up to sit next to her as she began reading. It was rather light despite the fact that Arme knew if she reached in she would most likely pull out a bomb, but Arme didn't bother to ponder it further. _It's magic, right? _There wasn't much point in questioning it.

* * *

The night set in earlier than Arme would have expected, and she was more than delighted to remember she was allowed to conjure flames to assist in her late-night reading again. This also helped Amy a fair bit, the muse nearly done with fixing up her new weapon. Over hours of idle chatter and work both had furthered their projects, Arme a few chapters into her book and Amy nearly finished with her weapon.

"And that'll make me the first with a third job~!" The rose haired girl exclaimed sleepily as she stood the kleiophone up, watching the flicker of the flames reflect off the golden pieces of metal, "I can't wait to use it in an actual battle~" Arme nodded absentmindedly, focused on her book as she flipped through yet another page. The pot was becoming slightly less difficult to deal with as she read through the book, and she was pleased to find that after several attempts she could reach into the pot without accidentally summoning an explosive. _It's summoning things __**other **__than bombs that's gonna be a challenge... _The magician had come to realize quickly, sighing as she heard a loud yawn from Amy.

"It's getting late..." She remarked when she looked outside, the moon already high in the sky. Amy nodded, rubbing over the orb of the weapon with a cloth one more time before standing up, "And I think I'm done~" She said tiredly, wandering over it to flop down next to the Sidtri, who had curled up and fallen asleep hours previously.

"I'm going to head back to my room now, thanks for letting me stay here..." Arme responded, fatigue starting to hit her as well. Lifting up the sleeping bird and cradling it to her chest, Arme threw her alchemy book into the pot before heaving herself off the bed.

"Night..." The dancer replied lazily, crawling under the blankets. Arme waved halfheartedly before dispelling all of her fireballs except one, keeping it with her to light up the corridors as she made her way back to her bedroom. Making her way down a staircase, it took Arme several tries to find the door to her own room, and when she made it inside the girl nearly collapsed on her bed. Shaking her head to keep herself awake, she placed the Sidtri down next to her pillows and the pot next to her nightstand before moving over to the armoire. In this her clothes had been piled messily, and Arme selected a pair of pajamas to change into before walking back over to her bed.

"Could you not?" Arme's eyes widened as a voice reached her ears, her hand releasing the edge of her shirt as she whipped her head over to look in the direction of the sound.

"L-lass!" She spluttered, noticing the silver haired boy she had missed in her exhausted stupor. His eyes were averted from her, cheeks painted a light rose that matched Arme's own once she acknowledged his presence, "Wh-what are you doing here?" She asked embarrasedly, pulling the pajama top protectively against her as her fire ball moved closer to illuminate the assassin's features.

"I told you I wouldn't let anything happen... That includes you being protected while you sleep..." He murmured in response, sapphire eyes directed at the ground.

"B-but you said there were exceptions to that!" Arme exclaimed.

"And sleep isn't one of them." Lass replied quietly, not budging from his spot. Arme paused for a second, looking down and at her lap.

"Then how are you gonna sleep?" Arme questioned, watching as Lass' eyes looked up to meet hers, "I... You won't sleep in the same room as any one else, will you?" The azure eyed boy shook his head in agreement with the statement.

"I won't. We're leaving this castle tomorrow... For tonight I'll be fine." Arme blinked slowly as the meaning of Lass' words sunk in.

"Lass... Are you trying to say you're not going to sleep?" She asked incredulously, watching as the assassin rolled his eyes.

"It wouldn't be the first time." He answered, watching as Arme stood up to walk over to him.

"You can't just not sleep, Lass! I'll be fine, go to bed!" Arme insisted, trying to pull the white haired chaser out of the chair. To her surprise he did stand up, though he didn't do what she had wanted. Instead Lass reached down to pick Arme up, walking her back over to the bed to set her back down on the covers. Arme's heartbeat sped up rapidly when the assassin hovered over her, letting out a sigh as he released her.

"Go to sleep, Arme."

"B-but..." Arme stuttered, the fire ball wavering with her voice.

"I'll be **fine**." He repeated, watching curiously as Arme's cheeks burned crimson at their proximity.

"But Lass..."

"No more buts, alright?" He said, ruffling her hair lightly before walking back to his chair. Glaring down at her lap in exhaustion and slight frustration at not being able to get Lass to sleep, Arme soon felt her energy levels winning out. Shuffling over to the bathroom to change quickly, Arme sighed. Cyan eyes were still on her when she re-entered the room, and they didn't waver in the slightest as the magician curled up under the blankets.

* * *

A/N: I apologize for the late update... Again... I had burn camp last week, this week I'm supposed to be going away too... Neh, I have too many distractions xD;; Anyways, this chapter involves mostly speech... Yeah. It's mainly here because it had to be, and there's mindless fluff in here because I wanted to write it 8D I really want to read something completely fluffy right now D8 I don't feel like much happened in this chapter x_x At least we'll be getting to important stuff soon! Next chapter or the chapter after that 8D Thanks for putting up with me and my late chapters~ o_o  
-Utsuro


	21. Across the Sea

A/N: Another Chapter~ =3

Disclaimer: I don't own Grand Chase. If I did, there would be A LOT more hinting to LassxArme xD

Chapter 20: Across the Sea

* * *

"Yay! We're here!" Arme exclaimed excitedly, looking out at the sparkling blue expanse of water known as Partusay's Sea. The previous day had been nothing but running, something that didn't particularily amuse Arme. They had run into few hordes of monsters, nothing significant enough for Arme to even be able to practice her new weapon on. Leaving the castle hadn't been eventful; neither had dinner of the previous night. She had managed to get much further in the alchemist's book, and had resorted to, for the most part, using Lass as a guinea pig for the support spells. So far nothing she had done had injured him, which the magician took to be a good sign.

"It's so pretty!" She cried out, Lass setting her down as she attempted to push herself off his back. The moment the girl was set down she shot over to the edge of the grass, kneeling down to run her hand through the water as she turned back to face the rest of the group, Elesis looking back at her displeasedly.

"It's just like a huge puddle of water..." She muttered, "But whatever you say. I'm going to the dock to see if I can find the boat guy." Ronan blinked as the spear maiden turned to the nearby pier, a decent sized building on the shore nearby. Several large boats were tied along the dock, and Arme guessed one would be the one to take them to the Ellia continent.

"Boat guy? Really, Elesis?" He questioned as he followed her with a sigh, "I'll help Elesis bargain with the cicerone, it should only take a few minutes." Arme nodded as she watched the indigo haired man walk away, Lass and Amy coming to take a seat next to the violet haired girl as Amy set her kleiophone down. The Sidtri flew up from Arme's shoulder at the proximity of Lass, flying around in a few wide circles before lighting down on Arme's right shoulder and in between herself and the silver haired boy.

"Woahhhh... I haven't been here in ages." Amy gaped, watching the early morning sun reflect playfully off the water's surface. They had left early in the morning to resume their journey, and as a result the firey orb had hardly risen by the time they reached the sea. Arme grinned, splashing a small amount of water onto the reminiscing dancer, who gasped.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, splashing back at the miniature magician. Soon there was an all-out water war occuring, and Lass stepped back as to not get soaked in the crossfire. Sighing, the assassin turned to where Elesis and Ronan had exited the house, a somewhat large man donning traditional sailer's garb on their heels.

"And which boat were you thinking about taking?" The bucaneer asked cheerfully, gesturing to a row of boats, "These are the ones for rent!" Elesis frowned as she looked over the boats and back to the man.

"We're going to be in Ellia for a while, and we're planning on taking the bridge through Trial Mountains back... We won't be able to return the boat." The boat dealer nodded.

"That's fine!" He exclaimed, pulling out a map and handing it to the knight, "There's another docking station positioned across the sea from here. You can return the boat there, and it will be sailed back here later!" Elesis nodded, turning to look at Ronan, "That should be fine!" Looking back over the boats, she let out a sigh.

"Now, which one to take...?" Amy and Arme, who had by that point finished their water fight, wandered over to join Elesis and Ronan as they walked onto the pier. Lass also followed after a moment, observing the ships as he walked past them.

"Perhaps this-" Ronan was cut off by Amy, the dancer seemingly extremely excited over the sight of one of the ships.

"This one!" She cried, tugging on Elesis' arm to drag her over to a medium-sized boat. Arme couldn't figure out why exactly it attracted the muse; from what she could see it appeared to be a normal dinghy, sails of beige hanging from the mast. A small cabin was hardly visible from where Arme was standing, and S.S. something-or-other was written on the side in bold letters.

"It looks rather... Practical." Ronan admitted a moment later, recieving a cheer from Amy.

"So we can take it, right? Right?" She asked, a large grin on her face. Elesis paused, looking between Amy and the ship for a moment before turning to Ronan, clearly hesitant to accept the suggestion of the muse.

"Ronan, what do you think?" She questioned, watching as the indigo haired man repeated the process she herself had just finished of looking over the ship and Amy repeatedly.

"**Why **do you want to take this ship, Amy?" He finally asked, watching as the dancer hesitated.

"I just do~!" Was the reply a moment later, causing both knights to look at her uncertainly. Finally glances moved over to the ship dealer, who shrugged.

"It's a perfectly good ship, probably the one I'd recommend you to take for this journey. She's seen her way over the stormy seas of Partusay many times..." With a sigh Elesis nodded, Amy letting out a cheer.

"We'll take it." The crimson haired female murmured, reaching into her bag to retrieve a satchel of what Arme assumed to be gold. As she did this the magician was surprised to see the cicerone shake his head, holding out a hand to stop her from taking out any money.

"Hey, it's on the house, alright? Ellia has been going through some really rough times for the last few months... I can't take your money when you're saving the lives of many." Elesis blinked.

"But-"

"It's free! Now get going!" The boat dealer insisted again, waving them off and onto the ship. Elesis stepped onto the boarding stairs hesitantly, looking back.

"Th-thank you!" She called as she boarded the boat, the others following moments later. The man just smiled and waved, looking almost sad as he untied the boat from the dock.

"Sail safely!" Arme hardly heard the farewell of the cicerone as she looked around the boat excitedly, watching the other members as they went their separate ways. Amy had disappeared the moment they had got on deck, though Arme couldn't fathom a guess as to where she had disappeared **to**. The ship wasn't very large... Elesis had gone into the cabin, bringing the map the boat dealer had handed over with her along with all of their bags. For some reason the magician wasn't very surprised when Ronan took to the steer of the ship, Lass staying back to pull in the stairs. Arme herself ran across the deck to look over the rail and at the water, watching almost disbelievingly as small fish swam by the boat.

"This is so awesome!" She laughed excitedly, turning to where the dock was already getting far away. Giving a big wave to the cicerone should he still be watching, Arme took a deep breath of the clear air before a sound next to her alerted her to the fact that Lass had come over to stand next to her.

"I know you're excited, but be careful." He warned with a sigh, "It wouldn't be very fun if you fell overboard." Arme's grin just widened.

"You'd save me if I did though, wouldn't you?" She asked with a laugh, a decently sized wave on the somewhat calm ocean rocking against the boat and splashing small droplets of water on her.

"Not the point." Lass stated, rolling his eyes, "Really, Arme. I don't want you falling off the boat, and it's pretty obvious you've never been on one... Perhaps it'd be safer for you in the cabin." He mused quietly, watching as Arme shook her head furiously.

"No! I won't fall over, I swear!" The little magician said pleadingly, "I don't wanna wait in the cabin!" As she did this she leaned over the rail, reaching her hands out and towrads the water. Another pair of hands were lain over top of hers, and Arme was surprised to find Lass pull them back and place them securely on top of the rail.

"Careful." He reminded her, sighing as he let go of her hands. Nodding, amethyst eyes regained their focus on the shimmering water. They would have stayed there longer had a shrill shriek not been heard from somewhere behind the cabin, causing all of the chasers present on board to turn in shock. Arme and Lass were the closest to the sound (Which the magician was fairly certain came from Amy), and the two hastily made their way in the direction the noise had come from.

"Amy? Are you alright?" Arme gasped as she noticed a pair of pink spirals shooting out from behind a stack of crates.

"Yes~!" Came the excited voice of the dancer; Arme soon found out why. Standing up to face them, Amy revealed what appeared to be a white cat tinted lightly pink in her arms. It had a red ribbon around it's neck tied into a bow, and soft blue eyes that peered back intelligently at the lilac coloured girl.

"I found the Ship's Cat! She's so cute~!" Amy cooed, petting the cat's head. It had been purring until it noticed something on Arme as she and Lass approached, and the cat erupted in a hiss. A flap of wings and the feel of soft down on her cheek reminded Arme quickly of the bird that had taken a seat on her shoulder, and she turned to notice this Sidtri's wings spreading out as it stared back at the cat.

"Her name is Luna! It says so on the inside of the ribbon!" Amy proclaimed joyfully, completely ignoring the tension between the cat and bird. Lass let out a sigh as he looked at the animal, glancing up at Amy.

"That's why you chose this boat, isn't it?" He asked after a moment.

"Maybeeeee~" Amy replied, rocking back and forth on her heels as she petted the light-rose coloured cat's head. Staring for a moment, Lass shook his head slowly and sighed.

"Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter. The boat's good..." He turned to watch Arme as she reached out to pet Luna, cautiously glaring at the Sidtri. Seemingly displeased with Arme giving affection to another animal, it looked caught between pecking Arme's arm to make her pull back or not doing anything.

"Lass?" The assassin's attention was brought back from the Sidtri to Arme as she turned to look at him, scratching the cat behind the ear.

"Yeah?"

"I wanna explore the ship!" With a shrug, the sapphire eyed boy nodded.

"It's not very large though... looks like it'll take a couple minutes at most." Arme grinned, grabbing his arm to pull him along. Amy was still coddling the cat when they walked past her. The back of the ship didn't appear to be very interesting, simply more crates and boxes. Arme still took a few minutes to read some of the tags on the boxes, Lass leaning against the rail as he waited for the magician to finish with her exploration.

" 'Kay, let's get going~" Arme called as she finished with the boxes, the two walking past Amy (who was still petting the cat) to move to the front of the boat. Aside from Ronan and the helm, there wasn't much at the boat's deck, and the lavender haired girl turned to the cabin. Lass breathed a sigh of relief as they entered it, and Arme looked around the small room. The Sidtri had flown off her shoulder when they entered, clearly preferring the sea air to being in an enclosed area. Arme realized quickly that it appeared to be almost a study, a desk and bookshelf secured to the walls as to not slide around while the ship was in motion. The bags lay against the far wall, sliding back and forth ever so gently with the ship. Elesis sat at the desk, and she had turned to look at both Arme and Lass as they entered.

"Plotting out the course?" The assassin asked as Arme made her way over to the bookshelf, almost tripping on a hatch in the ground. Elesis shook her head.

"There isn't really much to plot out... It's only a few hours away." Lass nodded.

"Well, Arme wanted to look around the ship..." He continued, looking out the small window of the cabin.

"Oh, really? You managed to keep her off the observation post?" The scarlet haired female asked.

"Well-"

"What's the observation post?" Arme piped in, getting a sigh from Lass.

"Uhm... It's... The tip of the boat. Where you can see things. And stuff." The violet haired girl frowned.

"That doesn't sound right... But what's down here?" Both the red head and the silver haired boy turned to look at Arme, who had been distracted by the wooden hatch. Lass seemed grateful for the change of topic, and he went to sit next to her as she futily attempted to pull it open.

"It leads down to the crew's area. There are beds and whatnot, for journeys that would take more than one day." He explained as he flipped a latch Arme hadn't noticed, tugging it open to allow the magician to peer down into a dimly lit hallway.

"Ohh! Cool!" The violet eyed girl exclaimed, "We can go down, right?" Without waiting for an answer Arme stepped onto the rather steep staircase, making her way down somewhat cautiously. The corridor wasn't very tall, about the perfect height for Arme. Turning around, the violet magician laughed gently upon realizing Lass had to lean down to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling.

"Hmm... Wonder what's in here?" Turning to her right, Arme pulled open a door. It led, it seemed, to a surprisingly clean bathroom. There was also a small tub, and Arme blinked curiously at the pipes that ran into the wall of the room.

"Does it use the water from the sea for the bath?" She questioned, leaving the room a minute later. As the door swung shut Lass laughed quietly, shaking his head disbelievingly.

"Arme, you do realize how gross sea water can get some days, right?" The magician shrugged, a blush coming to her face.

"I dunno, it looks a lot cleaner here than..." She paused for a second, yet kept walking down the hall until another door presented itself on the left side, "Than where I grew up." Lass looked back at her somewhat inquisitively, but didn't say anything as she swung open the door.

"Wow... This room is awesome!" The magician cheered, stepping inside. The interior of the room itself didn't seem all that special to Lass; a table nailed to the floor, assumably for playing cards or something of the likes, a somewhat comfortable looking bed and dresser, a fairly large window and a picture of the cicerone steering the ship hanging from the wall.

"It's probably the cabin for important guests or the captain, seeing how small the ship is..." The assassin mused as Arme shot over excitedly to the window. Lass took a seat in one of the chairs surrounding the windows, resting his head on his hands as he watched the violet haired girl's eyes open unbelievably wide.

"Lass! I can see the sea!" She exclaimed, hands pressing gently on the glass as she leaned forward.

"Imagine that, seeing the sea from a boat." The assassin replied lazily. Arme frowned, but she didn't bother to look away from the water.

"Oh, shush, you!" She huffed, gasping in shock and pulling back from the glass as a rather large fish swam closer to the glass than she had been expecting. Blinking, the girl laughed joyfully before leaning back forward.

"Look! Lass! A fish!" The silver haired boy traced her pointing finger to where a horde of small sunfish were swimming, "and over there! A fishie! And there-"

"Another fish?" Huffing again as a blush of embarrassment crossed her cheeks, Arme focused back on the schools of small sea animals. A minute passed before Lass stood up, walking over to join the magician at the window. She refused to look at him, eyes still strictly trained on the window. Something catching his eye that he was certain Arme hadn't noiced, he pressed his hand lightly to the glass to point at it.

"Hey," he commented, a light smirk crossing his face, "over there."

"A fish?" Arme couldn't keep the excitement from her voice as she almost automatically looked in the direction he was pointing, though Lass couldn't imagine why. _Aren't you already looking at fish?_

"Not quite." The little magician's eyes were nearly the size of dish plates when she noticed what he was pointing at; a whale swimming up to the surface in the distance.

"It- It's **huge**!" Arme gasped, grabbing Lass' hand. Before he could ask where they were going the amethyst eyed girl had led him out of the room and up the staircase, nearly bumping her head on the hatch as she attempted to make her way back up in to the main cabin. Still dragging Lass along as she pushed open the door, Arme didn't bother to comment at Elesis' confused glance before speeding out of the cabin and onto the deck. Running over to the rails, Lass couldn't help the smile that came to his face as Arme excitedly scanned the horizon for any sight of the animal she had just seen. A splash was heard when the whale did surface, it's back the only thing visible in the distance as a large spout of water was shot out of it's blowhole.

"Look!" The girl cried loudly, pointing to the whale even though Lass was already watching. The assassin nodded, looking at not only the whale but keeping focused on Arme from the corner of his eye. She was grinning widely, eyes sparkling in delight as she observed the mammal.

"It's amazing!" She gasped, laughing cheerfully. Footsteps were soon heard, and Arme looked over to see Amy watching as well. Luna firmly grasped in her arms, the pink haired girl's expression was similar to Arme's. In less than a minute another person had joined them, and Arme spotted red out of the corner of her eye.

"Ahh... I was wondering why you guys were- Amy? Is that a cat?" Amy blinked suddenly, turning to look at Elesis.

"Ehehehehe... Sort of?" The dancer laughed somewhat nervously, hugging Luna tightly.

"Amy, is that why we ended up taking this boat?" Elesis asked with an exasperated sigh, watching as Amy bit her lip.

"Well... Sort of?" She repeated. Elesis sighed again.

"Amy... Well, whatever. It's fine so long as you know you're not taking her with us." Amy gasped, grip fastening on the cat.

"But-"

"Amy, it's the Ship's Cat-" Arme didn't bother to stop and listen to the rest of the conversation, turning away from the rail almost the second the whale disappeared under the surface. Lass' hand still clasped in her own, the magician sped towards the cabin again. A sudden lapse of thought had her running straight into the wood; she bounced back lightly after her face had made contact.

"Turning the doorknob generally works." Lass advised helpfully, reaching forward to open the door as Arme rubbed her nose.

"I know!" Was the sore reply as she flung open the hatch, nearly leaping down onto the staircase. This time her foot apparently missed the first step, and the amethyst eyed girl probably would have tumbled down the rest of the stairs had Lass not been holding her hand. Grasping the ledge of the floor before he could fall down as well, the silver haired thief waited for Arme to steady herself before letting go and allowing himself to be dragged further.

"It's just a whale, Arme. Don't kill yourself here..." He murmured with a chuckle as the magician raced into the room. She immediately ran to the window to stare out it intensely, searching for the animal.

"Over there." Quickly locating the whale, Lass pointed it out for the overly excited violet haired female.

"Ohh..." Shrugging at how easily amused Arme was, the azure eyed boy moved back to sitting in one of the chairs. He simply leaned on the table and observed her for several minutes in silence as she stared out into the water, commenting on all the creatures she saw.

"And look! It's-"

"I take it you want to stay down here for the rest of the trip?" He questioned, cutting her off. This made Arme pause, placing her hands on her hips for a moment as she contemplated the idea.

"I should probably practice alchemy a bit..." She said with a sigh, looking wistfully at the fish.

"Practice alchemy? On a boat?" Lass laughed, "No way, I don't think the boat dealer would be pleased to find a hole in his ship. You can enjoy your fish-watching." At this statement Arme was crossed between being happy and annoyed, the joy winning out.

"I can control the bombs most of the time..." She complained quietly as Lass walked over to hover over her.

"Sure." He chuckled, resting his chin on her hair as he regarded the waters idly, "Did I ever mention you're almost the perfect height for a headrest? A bit short, but..."

"Lass!" Arme whined gently, "Don't be mean!" The teasing grin on Lass' face just grew, and Arme reached up to tug on his bangs.

"Your hair really is getting long..." She observed, pulling her hand through the surprisingly smooth white strands that were beginning to fall below his shoulders, "I think it's actually longer than mine now."

"If you keep pulling on it I'm going to put it in a pony tail." He muttered, not expecting the squeal of delight that came from Arme.

"Really?" Lass sighed.

"That threat doesn't appear to have worked quite the way I'd wanted it to." He murmured when the short girl turned around entirely, still holding onto his hair. She stared at him contemplatively for a moment before grabbing his wrist to pull him over to the bed.

"Sit!" Arme commanded, searching through her pockets. Lass did as told, watching curiously as she finally pulled out a strand of blue ribbon.

"I knew I had it somewhere in there!" She exclaimed with a grin, holding it out in front of Lass. The assassin, quickly comprehending what she was planning, stood up and held his hands out in front of him.

"No way, Arme!" The boy insisted, earning a frown from the magician.

"But... You just said..."

"I know, but that was supposed to get you to stop pulling my hair!" He exclaimed, sighing at Arme's expression.

"Please, Lass? Your hair is so pretty!" She begged, pouting. Crossing his arms over his chest, Lass shook his head.

"No!" Blinking, he felt his resolve waver when tears began bubbling up in the corners of Arme's eyes.

"B-But..." Arme reached out to lightly hold onto the front of his shirt, the (what Lass was certain to be fake) tears falling down her cheeks, "You... You promised you'd *sniffle* take care of me!" _Don't fall for the tears, Lass. Do __**NOT **__fall for the tears! _

"**Protect**, Not take care of! And that has nothing to do with this!" At this Arme began crying even more, amethyst eyes shining with water.

"L-Lass! You... *sniff* You're supposed to be like my guardian, r-right? *sniff* B-But you would... Wouldn't even...?" Lass bit his lip, cheeks turning ever so lightly pink. _Don't fall for the tears, don't fall for the tears, don't fall for the tears... _

"No, Arme! You... Damn it, stop looking at me like that!" He could almost see the glint of victory in her eyes at that point.

"L-Lass..." She blubbered quietly, causing Lass to sigh.

"Arme..." She looked up again, pleading orbs of lilac meeting his sapphire ones. _Don'tfallforthetearsdon'tfallforthetearsdon't- _"Fine!"

"Yay!" Lass groaned as he was led back to the bed, Arme sitting next to him and whistling cheerfully. _Knew it._Pulling a hand gently through the strands, Arme blinked as Lass winced.

"Ouch..." He muttered, reaching a hand back as the magician's hand snagged on a knot.

"For your hair not being extremely long it sure has knots..." Arme scolded lightly, "I'm gonna grab a brush from Amy's bag. There's gotta be one in there somewhere... Don't run off!" Lass nodded, letting out a sigh as the magician ran out of the room. Leaning back on the bed, he frowned lightly as he glanced at the window. _Am I honestly sitting here waiting for Arme to come back and do my hair? _He wondered somewhat disturbedly. This was followed by the thought, _Would she really notice if I was just... not here when she came back?_, to which the answer was completely and indisputably 'yes'. _Still, an escape might be worth the effort in the long run... _Thinking back to the crying violet haired girl, Lass sighed. _Ehh... I guess I'll just deal. _Rolling onto his side, the silver haired boy glared at a pillow sitting innocently on the sheet._ "You're supposed to be like my guardian, r-right?" _... _Why did you have to say something like that? _he questioned silently, face warming at the memory, _and why does it matter? _An answer wouldn't come to him, and as much as the assassin tried to shake off the thought it kept coming back. Lying on his back frustratedly, the azure eyed boy's musings were only brought to an end once footsteps were heard pounding down the steps.

"Back!" Arme called as the door swung open, "It was near the top!... Which is good, 'cuz I'm not so sure there's a definite bottom to that thing." Lass shrugged as he sat up, looking with disdain at the rather pink hairbrush in the magician's hand.

"Do you really have to do this...?" He asked hopelessly as the girl sat back down behind him, receiving a nod.

" 'Course I do, Lass!" She exclaimed with a grin, easing the brush gently through Lass' hair. Repeating the process, Arme was surprised at how easily the brush slid through.

"The knots come out pretty easily, at least... I'm not hurting you, am I?" The magician asked a moment later, worriedly. Lass shook his head lightly, unwilling to admit that the procedure felt somewhat good. With a smile, Arme began humming again as she made sure every strand was in place. After all of the silver locks had been brushed through Arme set the brush down, and Lass almost protested. He didn't, of course, saving his pride and keeping quiet. The magician ran her hands through his hair once more before she began pulling most of it back, leaving only his bangs hanging down.

"This is going to look wierd, you know." Lass informed her lazily as she made sure everything was in place.

"It'll be fine!" Arme said softly, "Your hair really is nice... Was it always this colour?" The assassin rolled his eyes.

"The girl with **purple **hair is asking if my white hair is real? But if you must know, yeah. Kind of like ocular albinism, but reverse, only my hair and skin were effected. Or that's what I'd have to assume at the very least, it's not like I had parents explain it to me." Arme tilted her head, looking at him curiously as she wound the blue ribbon around his hair.

"Lass?" She asked after a moment, brushing his bangs again for a lack of things to do. Realizing there wouldn't be much of a chance to get Lass to agree to having his hair messed with again, Arme pulled out the strand of blue.

"Yeah?" He asked, completely oblivious to the fact that she was dragging out the procedure as she ran the brush through the back of his hair again. She continued this for several minutes even though there were no knots, hesitating before she voiced her question.

"I was... What happened in your childhood?" She finally whispered. The assassin didn't look over at her; he didn't make any indication in the least to let her know he'd heard her. There were a few minutes of silence before Lass exhaled loudly, leaning back so his head was almost touching her skin. This made it difficult for Arme to continue brushing; she set down the pink object next to her for a moment as she looked back at him.

"I... I don't think I'm ready to tell you that yet." He replied quietly, "It's probably for the best if you never find out." Arme frowned at this, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him back so he was leaning against her. Chin wresting on his head and holding him as a child might a teddy bear, she sighed.

"Why? It wouldn't change my opinion of you..." Lass sighed again, but he didn't pull away from her.

"Don't say that so certainly." This was whispered under his breath, though the magician still heard.

"Lass, nothing could be that bad!" She insisted, tightening her grip on him. The blue eyed boy frowned ever so slightly, closing his eyes.

"You'll find out eventually, I'm sure... Until then, humor me and don't ask?" Arme looked at him with concern, not replying for a minute.

"Alright." She finally answered, "But... When I hear whatever it is, I want to hear it from you, alright?" A relieved look crossed Lass' face, and he nodded.

"If I can help it, I'll be the one to tell you... It's not very unknown, though. I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up hearing it from someone else first." The magician shook her head furiously.

"I want to hear it from **you**!" She repeated again, finally releasing him to resume her task of brushing his hair. The sudden loss of her warmth made Lass sigh, and he resumed propping himself up with his hands. Even though the process took much longer than Arme knew it should have, the assassin didn't complain. When she could finally drag out the event no longer Arme tied up his hair again, dragging a chair over to the window to watch the fish contentedly. Lass decided to lie down on the bed fully, taking extra care not to fall asleep as he watched the cheerful magician rock back onto the heels of her chair.

* * *

"We're here!" Elesis' voice called down from the hatch, capturing the attention of both Lass and Arme. The assassin stood up as the violet haired girl waved to the passing-by fishes happily.

"Bye, fishies!" She called before turning to Lass. Once she was certain he was following her Arme left the small room and entered the hall way, making her way excitedly up the staircase. The hatch had been left open, and Arme quickly grabbed her bag from the pile before leaving the small cabin. Outside stood Ronan, Elesis, and Amy (the cat at her heels), all waiting for the two other chasers to join them before exiting the boat. The dock to this seemed similar to that of the Bermesian side, excluding the different boats and majorly different scenery. She would have admired their surroundings more had Elesis not burst out in laughter at that point, looking at the pair.

"You actually let Arme play with your hair?" She questioned jokingly, watching as Lass' eyes widened. He hastily reached up to undo the ribbon the magician had tied into his hair, letting it fall as he slipped the strand into his pocket. Arme huffed at this, frowning at Elesis as they joined up, the Sidtri flying in circles above them.

"That's no fun!" She exclaimed, watching as a medium sized man walked out of a house identical to it's Bermesian counterpart.

"I thought I heard a boat!" He called loudly as they stepped of the boat, regarding Amy with a smile as the group filed off the boat.

"Finally..." Elesis sighed. Arme, on the other hand, was rather disappointed to be leaving the ship. Stepping onto the dock with a sigh, she turned to where Amy was smiling overly widely at the cicerone.

"This is a really cute cat!" She exclaimed, picking Luna back up. The man blinked, then chuckled.

"Loonie? She's a good cat, but she doesn't take to many people. Not that I can blame her for taking to you..." Amy seemed almost oblivious to the comment, petting the cat again.

"So adorable..." She murmured sofly. At this the boat dealer sighed.

"Beautiful, yes. Practical, no. She doesn't take to her job very well, doesn't like the water. A cat like that doesn't really belong on a ship..." As soon as he said this Amy's eyes began to sparkle, and she hugged the cat tightly.

"You... You mean you don't **want **her?" Amy gasped. Elesis groaned from her spot next to the boat, clearly disliking the turn the conversation was taking.

"I... Well, I suppose not... She doesn't make a very adept ship cat." He admitted with a frown. Arme could almost see Amy activating 'full-sparkle' mode as she looked pleadingly at the cat in her arms and back at the cicerone.

"That's so sad... She'd probably like a life travelling on land a lot better, wouldn't she?" The man nodded hesitantly, still watching Amy.

"S'pose so..." At this the muse jumped up, grinning widely.

"Hey, **we're **travelling on land!" She exclaimed as though it was a coincidence, "We could take her off your hands for you!" Luna purred appreciatively, and Elesis groaned louder.

"Amy..."

"I... Well I suppose you could." The ship dealer finally said, losing Arme's attention. She turned to look back sadly at the ship one more time before they had to go, something catching her attention. Atop the mast was a somewhat small, bucket-like area that Arme hadn't noticed previously.

"Lass? What's that?" She questioned, cutting off whatever reply Amy had began to give to the ship dealer. Following her gaze, the sapphire eyed boy quickly shook his head.

"Nothing! Isn't it about time we get going?" He asked with a grin, grabbing Arme's arm to drag her off the dock before she could question what he was saying. The others followed quickly, Amy's face one of utter success as she coddled Luna.

"Thanks for the cat!" She yelled as they began to move into a light run. This only carried on until the dock was a fair ways away, when they paused.

"Lass, do you even know where we're going?" Elesis complained as she turned to look at the white haired boy, who shrugged. Sighing, she then turned to Amy.

"And you realize you just... Like... Stole that cat, right?" She questioned worriedly. Laughing happily, the dancer smiled as she set Luna down.

"He **said **I could have her!" She informed the crimson haired leader promptly, clasping her hands together innocently.

"You're evil..." Elesis sighed, turning to look around.

"Now, we're headed to that somewhat small castle over there! It's hard to miss!" The swords woman exclaimed, using her spear to point a black tower that didn't seem too far away. Ronan nodded in confirmation, looking over the group members.

"It should be about a half an hour away." He estimated, patting the head of the gon currently sitting atop his indigo hair. At this Amy gasped, looking over at Arme and then down at Luna.

"Almost all of us have pets now! Lass, Elesis! You two need to get pets too!" She exclaimed cheerfully as they started their run to the castle, the cat trailing faithfully along behind her.

"I think I'm good." Elesis replied, taking the lead again.

"And I already have a dog." Lass added, earning a gasp from nearly everyone else in the group.

"You do? Why haven't I seen it?" Arme questioned shockedly, the assassin shrugging in response.

"I normally leave him at the assassin's guild. After all, it isn't all that convenient keeping a dog around that can shoot fireballs out of it's mouth, and the younger thieves enjoy playing with him." This earned a few seconds of stunned silence from the group, the magician the first to start talking again.

"What kind of dog **is** that? If it breaths fireballs, is it even really a dog anymore?" She asked disbelievingly.

"More importantly, you let little kids play with a fire breathing dog?" Amy chipped in, eyes wide.

"They're not **that **young!" Lass said defensively, "And most of them can deal with a slightly dangerous canine. As for the breed question, I really don't know. He just sort of... Vaguely resembles a dog. A bit." Ronan sighed.

"From the sounds of it, it's more dangerous than a slightly dangerous dog, Lass." The indigo haired knight said, "In fact, it doesn't sound much like a dog at all."

"Might not be." The assassin agreed without protest, "But I'm going to have to go with that until I can find some kind of better explanation, which I'm not expecting to show up any time soon." Ronan nodded.

"True enough... I don't suppose you would hear about animals like him very often." The conversation continued until they reached the tower, straying from the original topic so much that Arme had lost track of what they were talking about by the time they arrived.

"... And so rabies really is a bad thing." Elesis finished her story as they stopped at the entrance of the tall, thin castle. Something appeared to be glinting off the roof, though it was impossible to make out at their distance.

"You don't say?" Lass muttered as he set Arme down. The magician was still observing the building, it's walls ancient as the last castle they had went to, albeit no repairs had been made recently.

"What's this place called?" Arme asked as she stepped in through the large, crumbling archway behind Ronan. Elesis shrugged.

"It was actually just called Ellia Continent for a while... They stopped that due to an obvious confusion. It doesn't really have an official name any more..." She explained as she looked around, "We're just here because when I compiled all the new requests before we left the the castle there was one about people seeing an ominous shadow here, the Knight Master sent it along with one of her letters. It was empty the last time we were here, but we're still required to check it out if the Knight Master requests it, even if the note seemed a bit boring. You know, the whole generic 'people go in and never come out' stuff." Arme shuddered as she almost ran into a cobweb, brushing it away before she continued looking around.

"Does anyone feel kind of... I don't know, suffocated in here?" Elesis asked quietly from where she was standing.

"I do..." Amy called, Lass nodding ever so slightly.

"I don't feel anything..." Arme shrugged.

"Nor do I... Perhaps it's the dust?" The redheaded knight nodded as she wiped a layer of dirt off a box.

"That's a pretty good possibility..." The Sidtri had flown in through the window and perched on an ancient wall candelabra, watching Arme curiously. The rickety, stone stairwell seemed kind of scary to her, yet she still started up it, Lass following a bit behind.

"Arme? Watch your step." He warned, getting a nod from her. The magician paused at the sound of shuffling feet coming from on the next floor, waiting for Lass to catch up with her.

"I... Think there's someone up there..." She whispered when he did. The assassin nodded, waiting as the other chasers began making their way up. When they were all assembled the violet and pale blue chasers lead the way onto the next floor, Arme peeking her head in cautiously to survey the room. It seemed to be rather grey and broken down, almost an imitation of the room below it. That would be, if Arme hadn't caught sight of a shock of blue hair held up in an odd fashion.

"Elena?"

* * *

A/N: NOMNOMNOM, Elesis was talking about completely ordinary things! I swear! 8D Cicerone is actually more like a guide than a boat seller, but still! xD Not much to say right now, I'm sleepy... And remember, even though this is a double update, reviews on both chapters would be nice! I live to hear your guy's feedback =D

-Utsuro


	22. The Reason to Fight

A/N: CHAPTER 21! *dances* Let's get some important events rolling! An important note for this is that in this story Arme will not 'lose' most of her skills as she changes classes (seeing as it's a possibility for her to cast them with no weapon at all, it'd be pretty pointless for me to disallow her to use them when she has another weapon xD)

Disclaimer: I don't own Grand Chase! What I do, however, own, is a lovely little laptop I can write fan fiction for it on! 8D

Chapter 21: The Reason To Fight

* * *

"Elena?" Arme exclaimed in shock as she made her way entirely onto the next floor. The blue haired woman that had been standing against a wall of the room looking at a piece of stone turned in surprise as her name was called, her staff pointed threateningly at the group.

"Who- Oh, Arme!" The poised weapon was brought back to the high magician's side with a sigh, and she smiled, "What brings you all here?" As the other chasers filled the room Arme shrugged, and Elesis answered the question.

"We got a report of an ominous figure being spotted in here a few times, came to check it out." At this Elena laughed, gesturing to herself.

"Well, I've been here for about a week investigating a rather odd occurrence here, but as far as I'm concerned I don't look very 'ominous'!" Arme, looking over the starry purple outfit of her mentor, had to agree. As they began looking around the room she was the only one who paused, a frown coming to her lips.

"Odd?" Elena nodded.

"There's something on the roof of this building... It's emitting some sort of... Almost like a barrier." The high magician explained, glancing at the floor above with a displeased look.

"And... You haven't been able to get to it?" Arme asked after a moment. Elena shook her head, giving a shrug.

"I have, but I just can't identify what it is... Furthermore, only those with mana levels seem to be able to get anywhere near it. Even I have some difficulties... It's such a powerful object, if we knew what it was **for**..." Looking down at the floor and placing a knuckle to her mouth as she thought, the magician's focus finally landed on Arme, and her amethyst orbs widened.

"Arme, could you possibly come check it out?" She asked, watching as the younger magician gasped.

"M-Me? But I... You have more mana than I do, right?" The high magician shook her head.

"I told you when we first met that you have the potential to become one of the greatest magicians of all time... Your mana levels are much higher than mine, albeit you can't control them fully yet. The proof of this is the pot in your hand." Arme blinked, looking down at her weapon.

"Oh! This? I think it was all a mistake... I'm not sure that I was ready for a new job..." Elena smiled gently.

"You wouldn't be carrying it with you if you weren't ready, Arme. You need to have more confidence." She admonished gently, looking at the staircase, "You might be able to help me figure out what this is." Arme bit her lip ever so gently, looking down uncertainly.

"But I... How would I be able to help?"

"Weren't you reading lots at the castle?" Amy piped up from across the room, making Arme sigh.

"Yeah..." Elena clapped her hands, reaching forward to grab the wrist of the little magician.

"Let's go, then! And it's not necessarily about **knowing **when it comes to magic, Arme... Some times you can just tell." She explained as she began making her way up the staircase, and she was surprised to feel the presence of another person following them. Turning, the high magician was surprised to see Lass following them. Elena shook her head, stopping.

"Please wait here, Lass. It's not safe for those who aren't magicians..." She said, watching as the assassin sighed.

"She's a bit... Danger prone." He murmured, gesturing to Arme.

"I recall her being so," Elena commented with a nod, "But should anything happen I'm perfectly qualified to help her, and it's not as though she's helpless on her own, either." The violet haried girl nodded, waving to the silver eyed boy as she cautiously made her way up the staircase.

"I'll be fine!" She called back as reassuringly as she could, following Elena as Lass made his way back down the staircase to where the others were still looking around.

"It's three floors up," Elena told her, Arme nodding as she peered around the next floor. It also seemed similar to the first, albeit there were some items that seemed different.

"Here's where I've been compiling anything 'strange' seeming." The high magician said, continuing up to the next floor, "But that's not really important at the moment." The violet haired girl followed without question, and they ended up on a floor that had obvious differences. A bed had been unearthed from the meaningless piles of deteriorating junk, one of the candelabras were lit, and some books lay stacked neatly on the floor next to the sleeping area.

"This is where I've put my sleeping quarters, obviously," Elena explained, voice slightly strained, "But it's also where the pressure of mana being exerted from the object on the roof begins taking it's toll on magicians." She looked over at Arme, who was staring back uncomprehendingly.

"Pressure...?" Elena's amethyst eyes widened in surprise.

"You mean to say... You can't feel anything?" She asked curiously, Arme shaking her head.

"No... Nothing unusual. That doesn't make me... Wierd or anything, does it?" The violet haired magician asked nervously, looking around the room. Elena shook her head slowly, amazement still apparent in her features.

"That's amazing... Mana Pressure occurs when magicians run into something or someone with magic severely outclassing their own. It doesn't affect people to run into those with more mana because there's some sort of natural barrier to stop people from quite literally being 'crushed' by it. Of course you will meet some magicians powerful enough that their mana pressure will leak out... In that instance, however, it isn't painful. It would just make a good warning that you wouldn't want to fight someone like that... Now when you have objects like this filled with an extreme amount of mana but no pressure shield... It can be an unpleasant experience for even those with great amounts of mana... If Lass had tried to follow us up here, he would probably have been stopped last ... I doubt Ronan could get much further than this. While he's proficient in magic, since he also depends on physical attacks he hasn't relied on his magic like mages do... It wouldn't be strong enough to get him much further than here. You, on the other hand... To be unable to feel the pressure so close to that magic source means it isn't dwarfing your own powers... Simply outstanding." Arme looked down at the ground, somewhat embarrased.

"Wait... If there's so much pressure up here, why is your bed up here?" She asked, moving the topic away from herself as they began ascending the next flight of stairs.

"Endurance training!" Elena stated with a laugh, " I've been moving my bed up a floor every few days." Arme nodded.

"How long are you going to be here for?" She asked. The high magician paused for a second.

"Hm... I haven't really thought about it. I suppose, as long as it takes to understand the magic source. Where's Ryan and the redheaded boy, by the way? I didn't see them with you..."

"They're getting their second jobs right now." The magician replied, taking the last step needed to step off the staircase and into the next room. Arme still couldn't feel anything as they entered the barren fifth floor, and Elena sighed.

"One more staircase." She explained as she leaned on the wall for support while they continued up the last of the stone steps. A mild discomfort was beginning to settle with the magician as she walked onto the sixth floor, and she winced. _Is this the 'pressure'? _She wondered vaguely, _It doesn't feel very heavy. Maybe like... Someone put a light blanket over me... _Looking around the 'room' in confusion, Arme felt surprised as a breeze ruffled her hair. The sixth floor didn't appear to originally have be the last, the jaggedly cut off and ragged half-walls making it look like someone had lopped the rest of the tower off with a club. Crumbling pieces of stone were strewn about the edges of the room, pieces of destroyed metal from what appeared to be one of the candelabras sticking dangerously out here and there. The center of the room was what Elena had quite obviously been referring to, a shining, nearly pitch black orb sporting hints of crimson that reminded Arme oddly of a garnet standing on a raven pedestal.

"That's it..." Elena whispered, walking Arme over to the stone, "I haven't been able to even figure out what it's made of." Reaching out, she pressed her hand to the sphere lightly, hand running over it's surface.

"And what do I do?" Arme asked, looking at it curiously.

"Try..." Elena started, picking up her hand by the wrist, "Laying your palm flat on it, like this." As she said this she placed Arme's hand on the sphere, and both watched expectantly.

"I... Don't think anything's happening." Arme murmured after a minute. Elena frowned, letting out a sigh.

"How about I try it at the same time, as well?" The older magician suggested, releasing Arme's wrist to step to the other side of the orb.

"Keep your hand there, okay?" Elena instructed. Once it was in between them she placed her hand directly across from the alchemist's, and they waited again for a reaction.

"Uhm..."

"One moment, I have one other idea." The blue haired woman said, taking her hand off the orb.

"I have a releasing spell... It might do something." Arme blinked slowly.

"Shouldn't you have tried that before? And do I need to keep my hand here still?" She asked when Elena began leisurely writing symbols on the orb with her finger.

"Yes, do **not **move your hand! I have tried it before, but... I have a feeling with you here it might work differently." Arme nodded slowly, looking around. The wind blowing her hair into her face was annoying; she had almost removed her hand from the orb when she instead decided to set down her pot. Brushing the strands away from her eyes, she turned to look back at Elena.

"So, using a kitchen pot for your Alchemist's pot? Haven't seen that one before." Elena chuckled as she looked at the cooking utensil on the floor. Arme nodded, looking at it with a sigh.

"I almost blew up the kitchen making some soup..." She admitted, "It wasn't very convenient."

"Well, most magicians would die to be you." Elena informed, "Some will never possess the potential to even become an alchemist, let alone getting further... You are certainly talented enough." Arme kept her head to the ground, eyes closing.

"It definitely doesn't feel that way..." She murmured, "I don't think I've made it through a single battle without getting injured." Elena shook her head.

"I'm sure that's not true! Things are just targeting you, that's hardly your fault." At this the magician looked up curiously.

"But... How'd you know that?" She asked after a moment.

"Arme, I've gotten about three letters so far detailing attacks with you as the main target. You're a mage, so it's not all that unusual for you to make a good target, but even so... I'd have to say it's a bit much for nothing to be going on." The shorter amethyst eyed girl sighed.

"I..."

"No moping, now!" Elena chided, "Why don't we change the topic. Tell me what you're fighting for!" Arme stood silently for a second, taking a deep breath.

"I'm fighting because I want to protect my friends, and I don't want to be apart from them. I'm fighting so I never have to stand helplessly by and see a village destroyed like the one near Kerrie's Beach... I'm fighting so I never have to see children lose their families because I wasn't strong enough. I'm fighting to right the wrongs Kaze'Aze has caused... I think all of that is what I'm fighting for." She responded rather certainly, looking back at her mentor. The blue haired magician seemed to have a far away look on her face, still writing the rather long spell slowly on the orb.

"To right the wrongs of Kaze'Aze, huh?" She nearly whispered, "But... Arme, what do you truthfully know about her?" Arme tilted her head in confusion.

"Not as much as I'd like to, to be honest... That she's a witch, and that she has destroyed many villages. She not only played a painful part in the pasts of many of my friends, but she's killed thousands upon thousands of people. She plays an important part in Lass' past as well from what I've heard from the others, but he hasn't told me what it is yet... She's evil." She concluded quietly.

"She's powerful..." These words were whispered so quietly Arme wasn't quite certain Elena had even spoken them, and she simply stared for a moment.

"What?" She asked, finally suceeding in getting her teacher's focus.

"She may be evil... It's true that she has killed thousands of people... But she is powerful. The most powerful magician in all the world..." Arme began to feel slightly uncomfortable at the tone in Elena's voice, looking at her inquiringly.

"Elena...?"

"Arme, you say you wish to protect your friends, and you don't want to be apart from them... Don't you need strength for that?" The magician nodded slowly, "You want to protect villages, and you want to protect suffering children. That also requires strength, no?" Arme nodded again, feeling somewhat hesitant.

"To right the wrongs of others... Again, strength. Arme, wouldn't it be more accurate to say what you seek is **strength**?" There was silence for a moment, Arme's hands shaking.

"N... No." She finally answered, "Strength isn't my goal. Strength is what I need to accomplish it, but it's something I would sacrifice just as quickly as it was needed." Elena stared at her in disbelief, taking a deep breath.

"You don't seek being more powerful than others? You don't look forward to the day your strength surpasses that of the person above you?" She inquired. Arme shook her head quickly, feeling nervous.

"I won't spend all my time looking at those more powerful than me... I want to focus on those below me, those who still need help." Elena sighed, silence taking over the room again as she continued writing the spell.

"You... Arme, you have to realize power is necessary in this world." She stated.

"And there are ways to gain it... How are you ever going to know if someone stronger than you is lending you a hand if you're always looking down?" Arme blinked slowly.

"What... What are you saying, Elena?" She questioned, "I... I'm confused."

"Arme, some times... You may need to accept help from those you don't want help from to get stronger." Arme winced, "And once you accept that help, you may come to see the world in an entirely different way." The small magician could feel herself getting slightly afraid at this point, arms shaking ever so slightly. _I don't like the way this conversation's headed..._

"Arme... You have the potential to be one of the strongest magicians in the world..." She repeated, "And the Dark Queen's been watching you. If you accepted the darkness..." Her voice trailed off as Arme's eyes widened, getting a sinking feeling. She felt quite suddenly like her heart had dropped when she remembered one vital fact, and she frightenedly released the orb.

"I remember the releasing spell..." She whispered, throat feeling dry. Clumsily reaching down to grab her pot, the magician kept her eyes trained on Elena as she backed away.

"It o-only has three rather short words in it." Arme finished. Arme watched as her mentor's eyes widened.

"Oh, really? Well then..." Twisting her war staff and aiming it at Arme, Elena smiled, "Oops. Looks like I've been 'busted'.

"Ah!" Arme gave a loud shriek as a bolt of lightning was tossed at her, and she fell to the ground as she dodged it. Rolling over to dodge a stream of flames thrown at her, Arme pulled a saver from the pot to protect herself as her mind raced. _What... What's happening? _There wasn't much time to think, and Arme scrambled to her feet as she narrowly avoided being struck with a whirlwind. The spiral of violent air followed Arme as she ran around the perimeter of the room.

"And I had wanted you to come peacefully, too..." Elena sighed, conjuring more flames to spiral around the room.

"Wh... What were you doing with that orb?" Arme demanded as she sliced her pot through the miniature tornado, dispelling it. Elena laughed, the war staff's end slamming into the ground to summon thunderbolts that surrounded Arme.

"Whatever was I doing? Hmm... I wonder..." Arme groaned as she was nearly hit with a fire ball, glaring at the sphere on the pedestal. _Whatever's going on, I don't think she was lying about that thing emitting Mana Pressure... She brought me up here to separate me from the others. _Taking a deep breath, Arme attempted to get a hold of herself. _Alright, so I need to __**destroy that orb**__! _She didn't admit to the part of her that was hoping it was the dark orb doing something to Elina, deciding to leave that thought for later. With a plan in mind Arme began hurling bombs out of the pot, aiming them as closely to Elena as she could, whom was still standing next to the orb. In her haste her aim was off, and many missed their mark. The explosions still provided ample distraction, filling the area with small amount of smoke. _Now, just remember what you read in the alchemist's book! _Skidding to the ground and landing on her right shoulder as another thunderbolt flew overhead, Arme was thankful the room wasn't rather large. It was because of this that she had landed rather close to both Elena and the orb, her pot held so the bottom was pressed against her stomach. _Now! _

"Big Hand!" Calling out an attack generally wasn't the wisest move, but Arme wasn't certain she could summon powerfully enough without doing so. It was at this yell that a large, pitch black fist shot out of her weapon, slamming into the base of the charcoal black pedestal. While it was newer than the rest of the castle it had quite obviously not been built for withstanding attacks; it crumbled easily upon the impact. Elena's eyes widened as the medium sized orb fell into Arme's waiting hands, the alchemist taking the opportunity to roll away and regain her ground. _How do you go about destroying something like this? _Arme wondered as the high magician's expression turned to one of anger, and she lunged at the violet haired girl.

"Give that back!" She screamed as her staff came in contact with Arme's unsuspecting shoulder. Arme gasped, holding the orb tightly as she swung her pot and crashed it into Elena's side. Teleporting away once there was no longer contact between the two, Arme lifted the sphere as high into the air as she could before the cyan haired woman noticed her. Swinging downward, Arme released it at the last second and allowed it to slam into the ground, where, to her dismay, it didn't shatter. The black ball had rolled for less than a second when Arme lunged to retreive it, swinging her left arm around it as she pulled out a bomb with her right to toss at the rapidly approaching magician.

_A crack! _She noticed victoriously, thought coming to her. _I can summon flames with my pot, right? Then... _Throwing the orb into her pot, Arme prayed it would work as she summoned as many fire balls as she could inside with it. A large flame shot out of the opening, just barely missing Arme's bangs as the blaze spiralled around the sphere. Squeezing her eyes shut, the lilac haired girl quickly pointed the pot away from her before a loud crack was heard. The orb inside had nearly exploded, shards shooting out like bullets from the opening and filling the area. The force pushed Arme back, and she fell to the ground as the shattered orb spewed out. There was silence for a moment as Arme allowed the fire in the pot to die, feeling the light pressure on her disappear. She let out a deep breath as she opened her eyes, and was terrified at the sight of Elena standing several feet away from her, several shards of the orb embedded in her skin.

"E-Elena..." She stuttered as the magician blinked slowly, staring down at Arme in annoyance.

"I'm not allowed to take this fight seriously because Kaze'Aze doesn't want her **precious **magician injured..." Elena hissed, though the violet haired magician was wondering how she could even be **standing **with so many sharp wedges of stone in her flesh, bleeding rather badly.

"I'm giving you another chance, Arme. One. Last. Chance. Come with me willingly, and I **assure **you this will be much more pleasant." She stated, coughing up a small amount of blood.

"N... No." She whispered, holding the pot tightly as she managed to stand up, body shaking.

"Tch. Stupid girl." Was the retort, Elena coughing blood again.

"You... You're going to die if you don't get healed soon..." Arme whimpered, still unable to believe what she'd done to her teacher. She was surprised when the high magician shook her head, laughing at her student as though she was pathetic.

"Poor, innocent Arme. You're too naive... You honestly believe this is all my body can take? Of course not. After all, I..." She paused at that point, getting a gasp from Arme as she snapped her war staff in half, "Have accepted the darkness." The small, lavender coloured magician watched as the two pieces were held in different hands, twisting seemingly of their own accord. This continued until they both formed circles, and the high magician's body began to glow. Arme turned and ran to the stairs as a black light engulfed Elena, moving as quickly as she could. _I can't handle this on my own... _With the other chasers in mind Arme began down the stone steps, praying she could get to where the others were before whatever Elena was doing was over. Nearly tripping over something she hadn't expected to see there, Arme gasped as she turned back to see what it was.

"L-Lass?" She exclaimed, staring at the white haired boy dumbfoundedly, falling to her knees to cast a heal over him even though he had no physical wounds, "What are you doing here? With that barrier you should hardly have been able to make it to the fourth floor, and that at the very most!" The assassin took a breath as he sat up, sapphire eyes looking over her several times.

"You screamed." He muttered, standing up and stretching, Arme staring with wide eyes.

"B-But that doesn't change the fact that there was pretty much a **barrier**, Lass!" She stated, allowing him to grab her arm and drag her down the stairs.

"It **does **change how determined I was to get past the barrier, though..." He responded, looking at her lightly injured shoulder with a frown, "and you should really get that healed by Amy." The glow was still filtering in through the ceiling as they came to where Ronan was sitting on the floor of the fourth room, the indigo haired knight looking up at them.

"You can't tell me you're honestly worrying about me when you made it up nearly three more floors than you should have." She murured with a pale blush colouring her cheeks as they helped Ronan up.

"The pressure's gone now, it doesn't matter. I assume you were fighting Elena?" Arme sighed, looking at the ground and nodding ever so slightly.

"How did it go?" Ronan asked as they continued down the tower. Arme bit her lip, staring at the steps below her.

"I... There was some sort of orb. She was doing some sort of spell with it... I'm not sure if she completed it, but then we fought. I managed to retrieve the orb and I shattered it by putting it in my pot and setting it on fire... The shards were shot into her, but somehow she was still standing. Then she said something about me being Kaze'Aze's 'precious' mage, and she started glowing. That's about when I came down and almost tripped over Lass." The assassin frowned as they ran into Elesis and Amy on their way up, the group heading down to the second floor to meet up.

"What's going on?" Elesis demanded, looking over Arme worriedly. Amy had began healing the light wound on her shoulder wordlessly, and everyone looked at each other.

"Elena betrayed us." Ronan said quickly, "but I don't think we have much time for this. I highly doubt she's dead... With what Arme said..." He was interrupted by the sound of a large crash, and Arme almost shrieked when she turned to the window as a shadow crossed it. Half way inside was what Arme could only assume Elena transformed into, a blue monster with large chakrani similar to Amy's. Eyes of a dark purple sparkled dangerously , a twisted grin on her light blue face as she made her way inside fully. Large wings seeming to be a mocking imitation of an angel's were attached to her back, a contrastingly pointed devil's tail swaying behind her as she stood before them. Midnight blue horns had emerged from her head, the same blue gradienting from the tips of her hands and feet into the pale blue of her stomach and face. This light blue also coloured the tip of her tail, making it stand out.

"Did you really have to resist? Everything would have been so much simpler if you had just come with me... Oh well, I suppose it doesn't change the end results. In this more powerful body of 'Kamiki' bestowed upon me by the Dark Queen this should be simple..." Arme stepped back instinctively, the other chasers stepping between her and the monster.

"Elena, you trator!" Elesis yelled, charging at the magician, "Do you think we'd just hand over Arme?" Her spear was parried by the dark base of Kamiki's tail, and flame burst out from a hand pointed at Elesis. Ronan's gon, hovering near Arme, began throwing small stones that bounced pointlessly off Kamiki's horns.

"Gah-" The red haired female stepped back as quickly as she could, bangs singing slightly. Ronan and Lass also charged at this point, a glave jabbed at her legs and kunai flung at her body. A flap of her wings threw the small blades aside, the glaive clanging against her skin and not taking any damage.

"What?" Ronan pulled back the blade as quickly as he could, Amy jumping over him and swinging the keiophone down to solidly connect with Kamiki's head as Elesis turned back in for another blow.

"Pests." The twisted magician hissed as she swung a chakrani heavily against Elesis' side, throwing her into the nearby wall with ease. Arme ran hastily over to help her, trying to keep her distance from the monster. Ronan swung up as Amy pulled down the head of her keiophone, and Arme caught sight of her twisting the pink volume control before screaming loudly into the orb. While entirely mute to Arme it made Kamiki wince, and she raised her arm in the air a moment too late to fully avoid Ronan's blade. It dug lightly into the light blue skin of her arm, and the witch used her foot to slam down on his head.

"Ronan!" Arme gasped with wide eyes, Elesis pushing her away.

"Go heal him!" She demanded as she pushed off the wall and back into the fight, nearly being struck down by the several streaks of lightning that filled the area seconds later. It narrowly missed each member of the chase, though it did shake the tower.

"This area is too small for a battle..." Kamiki muttered, "I think I'll just get what I came here for." This was quite apparently directed at Arme, who had had to come closer to reach Ronan. Lass' simitar swung down in front of her before she could get too close to the magician, the assassin sending a chain flying at her. It wrapped rather messily around one of her wings, crushing some of the feathers as he pulled back on it.

"Not while we're still here!" Amy yelled, using her stand as a balance as she twisted and kicked the witch in the cheek. Elesis also charged, the small area of the room working more to the advantage of the chasers than the evil magician.

"Thanks, Arme." Ronan murmured as he stood, "It'd be best if you stood back in this fight, we don't want her getting to close to you." Arme nodded, reaching into her pot again. This time she summoned several savers from it, releasing them. Once they were out of her hand each surrounded a member of her party, and Arme stepped away to press her back against the wall.

"Insolent..." A dark circle erupted from the blue magician, forcing the members close to her back. Lass still managed to keep his grip on her wing; the chain long enough for him to step back and avoid getting hit. As the black faded a streak of red entered the room, and Arme blinked in confusion.

"The Sidtri?" She stated questioningly as the bird entered, flames lining it's wings. These flames quickly spread over to Kamiki's non-chained one, and the witch growled.

"Meaningless animal!" The flaming wing was used to bat away the beige and red bird with ease, and ice began seeping out of Kamiki. It froze not only the patch of feathers that were beginning to smoulder but the ground as well, crawling up Lass' chain.

"Damn!" Lass hissed as the frost grazed his hand, releasing the chain before it could freeze any further. He backed off quickly along with the others, moving near Arme.

"Lass, let me see!" She insisted, grabbing his wrist to look over the damage. Sticking her tongue out lightly in concentration, she conjured a flame to hold under his hand. Within a minute the ice had melted, and Lass stepped away to rejoin the fight.

"Let's make the battlefield larger, shall we?" Kamiki laughed, slamming a chakrani into the wall. It began crumbling, and Elesis gasped.

"We're on the second floor, you idiot! The rest of the tower will..." As she said this the walls began cracking ever so slowly, and Kamiki backed out the window. Lass didn't stop to ask questions; he was the first to grab Arme and bolt down the staircase. The others running behind him, they just barely made it out as the walls began to collapse entirely, large cracks shooting up the sides of the building as it crumpled down, chunks of stone falling around them everywhere.

"The- The Sidtri!" Arme gasped as she watched it collapse, eyes wide.

"The bird will be **fine**, Arme! It's survived me sincerely trying to kill it, it can survive this witch doing it halfheartedly! **You're **the one who will be in danger if we don't get moving!" He reminded her, pulling her a few feet further away from the tower as it slowly began to stop crumbling. This was proven right by a shadow hovering over them, giving the silver haired boy just enough warning to pull Arme out of the way before Kamiki plummeted into the ground.

"You can still accept my offer, Arme." She grinned, pulling her chakrani out of the ground.

"No! You said you wouldn't offer again, so don't!" The magician responded shakily as Lass provided a barrier between herself and Kamiki.

"Even if she said yes we wouldn't let you have her." The assassin muttered as he readied his scimitar, Elesis lunging in from the side. Her spear was grabbed by a dark blue hand, and Elesis gasped as she tried to pull it back. It didn't seem Kamiki was near releasing her until a kunai embedded itself into her shoulder, when the tainted magician stepped back. Ripping the blade out of her shoulder as she accidentally let go of Elesis' spear, Kamiki let out a cry. Arme soon found out why; a fair portion of her tail had been cut off by Ronan.

"But... Wasn't that tail used to parry my spear earlier?" Elesis demanded, stepping back. Ronan was silent for a moment as thunderbolts rained out across the battlefield again, one gazing Amy. Arme winced, waiting for any sound of pain coming from the muse. None came, the girl smiling as she passed Arme.

"Thanks for the saver!" Was the laughed explanation, Amy turning and yelling into her kleiophone again. This time a lazer was emitted from the pink haired girl's eyes as she used the weapon; it was used to sever the non-chained wing. Kamiki frowned, showing gritted teeth as Lass' scimitar collided with her leg.

"She can't be injured on the dark blue parts of her skin!" Ronan quite suddenly yelled from the other side of Kamiki, getting a skeptical stare from Elesis.

"What do you-"

"Look at all her wounds! They're on the pale blue parts!" He called before she could finish. Elesis' crimson eyes widened in comprehension and she smirked.

"Well, that makes this a lot easier..." She said, quickly moving over to stand next to the dragon knight. As she did this Amy screamed into the kleiophone silently again, making Kamiki flinch.

"Such an infernal noise..." She whispered contemptfully, pressing a hand to one of her ears as she sent a flame at Amy. The dancer dodged, a grin coming to her face as she continued. Lass didn't hesitate to use the opportunity to slash at her unguarded side, Kamiki twisting over to stop his blade at the last second. It looked as though she wasn't, however, expecting Elesis to come in from the other side. Blade cutting into the soft blue skin of her side, Elesis didn't stop there. Dragging the blade up and through the body, Arme looked away.

"N... No!" The anguish-filled voice of Kamiki filled the area as blood leaked from the fatal wound, "I can't die... I was promised power... I was promised... Ultimate **power**!" These words felt like they were cutting Arme even though they were voiced dully, the volume fading in her words as she began to choke.

"No... No..."

"You betrayed your kingdom for **power**? How pathetic." Elesis muttered, pulling out her spear and allowing the witch to fall to the ground. For several minutes the chasers were silent, waiting for the quiet chant of 'no' to die out. When it did Arme chanced looking back at the body, immediately regretting it. The blue monster form of 'Kamiki' was beginning to fade, leaving the bleeding body of Elena in it's midst. _"I'll take her on as my apprentice!" _...

"Did she have to die..?" Arme questioned quietly, hands falling against her sides. _She taught me so much... She can't have been all evil... Maybe she was being possessed... Or she was- "__I was promised power... I was promised... Ultimate __**power**__!"_ The magician already knew the answer to her question.

"Arme? Are you alright?" Amy asked quietly, looking on with concern as Arme's eyes watered up. Wiping away her tears quickly as she stared a the body of her mentor, Arme stood silently.

"I... Don't know." She whispered after a minute, "I don't know."

* * *

A/N: Double update! This is for ChibiFreak52, so if you wanna thank someone there you go~ xD You know why this double update is for you =3 In any event, this is about where important things started to happen! And it's chapter 21! Coincidence? I think not 8D  
-Utsuro


	23. A Violet Gathering

A/N: I'm sorry about the wait!

Disclaimer: I still don't own Grand Chase D; ... Or Lass. Or Arme. ;-;

Chapter 22: A Violet Gathering

* * *

Arme was silent for several more minutes as she watched the unmoving body of her teacher. Those around her didn't speak, though she was certain they were staring at her. Her tears had ceased falling after she had wiped the first few from her eyes; Arme was immensely grateful for this. After a while a hand was placed gently against her shoulder, prompting her to turn around. When she didn't a voice accompanied the gesture, bringing the magician slowly back to reality.

"Arme? I know it might be a bit... Difficult, but we need to get moving soon." Lass. His voice was almost hesitant, as though he was worried he might interrupt her thoughts. He did, but it was nothing Arme was unappreciative of. Her memories hadn't been producing anything that was helping to ease the pain that was beginning to rise from her experiences in the last few minutes. If anything, they were making it worse.

Elesis was the next to speak, "Well, this is going to complicate things."

"Elesis! Can't you **try **to be sensitive?" Ronan reprimanded her, walking to where Arme and Lass stood. A sigh came from the direction of the spear maiden.

"I'm not saying it sarcastically, Ronan. Now we have to contact not only the queen to report that Elena was a traitor, we have to contact the guild and let them know there's no longer a leader. This'll lead to several meetings that they'll expect Arme to attend because they need to decide on a new one. This is going to get complicated... ." It was at this that Arme finally managed to dredge her eyes from the sight ahead, turning to stare at Elesis.

"Do we have to?" She asked, throat feeling painfully dry. Elesis looked at her in confusion.

"Tell them she's dead? You think the leader of a guild can just go missing like that? People are bound to notice." Arme shook her head, moving her gaze from the redhead to the ground.

"Not that. It's... Do they need to know... Do we have to tell them she betrayed us?" The magician questioned weakly, glancing up at Elesis. Catching onto what the violet haired girl meant, the knight's expression had changed to one of pity.

"They have to know, Arme. It means she might have been dealing with Kaze'Aze in the past, so there might be leads." Arme nodded somewhat numbly, looking at the others, "What do we do now?" There was a moment of silence before Elesis responded.

"The first thing we need to do is write a letter and use the Sidtri to send it as quickly as possible. After that... Ronan, what's the nearest village?" The indigo haired male paused, thinking it over.

"It should be Maurion Village." He informed her, "If I'm correct, it's about three hours north-east of here."

"We'll alter our route and head there... We should put in the letter for Ryan and Jin to rendezvous with us there instead of the previously planned spot, they should be getting back to their guilds today. We'll have to bring Elena's body with us, as well." There was a rattle as Amy set her bag on the ground and searched through it, pulling out a pile of paper a moment later along with a pencil.

"Who do I address it to?" The musician asked, her voice not carrying the cheer it normally did.

"The Knight Master." Elesis decided, "She'll be able to contact everyone who needs to be contacted about this." Amy nodded, and without a word began to write. Arme turned slowly to look at Lass, who was still standing dutifully behind her. Her head was beginning to ache as she tried to take in everything that was going on, and in the confusion she was only hoping the assassin would be able to make things make **sense **again. _Why... Why would Elena do that... ? When so many people counted on her... When so many children looked up to her... Why? _Reaching out a hand, the silver haired boy ruffled her periwinkle hair softly.

"I'm sorry." He whispered; an unnecessary apology. Arme simply nodded, eyes moving to the ground to avoid Lass' concerned gaze.

"Oh. Another thought... Can you write three separate letters to the leaders of mine, Ronan's and Lass' guilds? We should request the okay to pursue third job while we wait for Arme's guild thing to be sorted out." Amy must have nodded in response to Elesis' request; Arme didn't hear anything vocalized. For what seemed like ages to Arme there was only the sound of a pencil scratching against paper as Amy wrote out the letter that would inform the world of Elena's betrayal, and the magician's heart sunk. By the time Lass tugged on her sleeve to alert her to the fact that they needed to go Arme felt as heavy as lead, like though something had drained the energy out of her. The Sidtri that had landed on her shoulder moments earlier (after flying out of the destroyed castle, as Lass had predicted it would) and began to rub it's head against her cheek affectionately left reluctantly, several letters tied to it's thin leg and a command of 'To the Knight Master' all it was given before it set off. Arme got up onto Lass' back with much assistance from the disquieted assassin, cerulean eyes glancing at her every few moments.

"Let's get going, then." Elesis gave this order once Elena's body had been wrapped securely in the first blanket they had pulled out of Amy's bag and picked up cautiously by Ronan. The group began running silently, Arme unable to sleep despite her falling energy levels.

* * *

The village showed up after several hours of running, conversation scant. The violet haired magician had felt no need to participate in the discussions when they did begin; they always tapered out moments later. Lass had implored her several times to get some sleep, Arme shaking her head in refusal each time. She hadn't spoken more than a few words during the trip, those spoken only in abnegation to Lass' insistance. As they approached the village the silver haired boy set Arme down, watching her for a moment after as though he expected her to fall over. It was when he grabbed her arm lightly to begin leading her into the village that Arme realized how shaken she must have appeared, everyone glancing at her now and again. When they reached the gates Elesis paused, turning to look over her group.

"I'll go in and tell the village leader what's going on, all right?" She said, turning to enter the village before anyone could respond. Ronan sighed, and Arme looked over at him slowly. The blood from Elena had began to seep though the blanket and saturate his clothes as a result of Elesis' slightly overdone kill. The magician looked hurriedly away, feeling somewhat queasy. Her legs still held out and her arms were only shaking in the slightest, a great accomplishment at that point. Seeing the bundle that held the high magician had somewhat unnerved Arme; she had managed to somewhat settle her discomfort by the time Elesis returned.

"The elder understands the situation." She explained briefly, "There's rooming for all of us at the inn. Ronan, they said we can put her body in the crypt for now while we figure out what's going on." The dragon knight nodded in response, taking the lead next to Elesis as they entered the village. Lass followed behind, Arme trailing ever so slightly further back. She was shocked to see a small crowd gathering just inside the village; most likely a result of a villager seeing the fiery haired leader or the chase. Most of the people's eyes had navigated to the bloodied blanked Ronan's arms, and Arme's gaze fell to the ground. _They'll all know that Elena was a traitor soon anyway... _She knew they had made their way out of the horde once the whispers quieted and the volume of shuffling feet had lowered to only the sounds of the chase. Arme looked up at that point, noticing immediately that they were approaching a large building that appeared to be a church. The group stopped and Elesis and Ronan turned around, glancing at Lass. Elesis' sights moved to Arme a minute later, then she turned back to the building.

"We're probably going to be here for a while..." She said.

"Arme and I will head to the inn, then." Lass stated, receiving a nod from the crimson eyed girl.

"I'll come too~!" Amy exclaimed from behind them, running up to fall into line next to Arme as they parted from Elesis and Ronan. Despite her heavy stare the magician didn't look up, and Amy sighed. Opening her mouth to speak, she was silenced immediately by a glance from Lass. The rest of the way to the inn was made in silence, Arme still staring at the ground as though it held something of interest. She almost tripped over the stairs to the inn when they had made it there and finally focused her gaze at the door. Lass had pushed it open quickly, walking the magician with him and up to the front counter.

"Has the village leader informed you on the situation yet?" He asked the elderly man at the desk, who nodded.

"One moment..." he replied, turning to the back room and issuing out a command.

"Garnet, come here!" As he said this a small girl who Arme would have guessed to be about the age of seven entered the area behind the desk, looking up at the old man.

"The Grand Chase has arrived. The red hall is empty at the moment, correct?" The girl nodded.

"All right, then. Would you escort them up?" He asked, receiving yet another nod from the child.

" 'Kay, Grandfather." For her age she seemed to be a bit less than chipper, though it could have simply been the atmosphere in the room. _I need to get myself together... _She realized with a sigh as she was gently pulled along with Lass and Amy. _I don't want to at the moment, but there's no other choice. _Even after she thought these words it took her until they were in a hall way with a small red panel at the front before she managed to paste a vague smile on her face.

"Feel to take any room in this hall. They're all nice." Garnet said, bowing to them, "I hope you enjoy your stay." Arme nodded, turning to Lass as soon as the little girl had made her way back down the staircase.

"I think I'm going to lie down..." She said quietly, turning to push open the first door on the right. Turning back she noted the relieved expression on the assassin's face as he nodded.

"Try to get some rest, all right?" After another brief nod Arme let the door swing shut behind her; she didn't hear it shut as she had expected it to. A glance behind her told her that Lass had swiftly stuck out his foot to catch the door before it shut, and he had opened it to follow her into the room. Amy followed as well, clearly uncertain of what to do. The magician knew easily what was going on; Lass' stare was accompanied by the 'I'm not leaving you alone' look she had come to be familiar with over the weeks. The room they had entered was rather small, a simple wooden floor and cream coloured walls providing the main colour scheme. There was a sliding door that led to the room next to it, and more solid door next to that left open to reveal a joined bathroom. Arme ignored these features, flopping down on the bed with a sigh after she had placed her bag down and rolling to pull the covers over her. She didn't bother trying to dissuade Lass from taking a seat in the room; if he truly wanted to stay, he wouldn't be persuaded otherwise. There was a hushed whisper from Amy; the muse confused. Lass whispered something back, and a minute later the door opened for her to make her leave. Arme didn't bother to turn and see her go; the blankets around her felt soft, as well as the pillows. The fatigue from the earlier fight with Elena hit her in a wave, and she no longer had the will to fight sleep.

* * *

The memory of the next time she awoke was hazy; the light streaming in through the window. The magician turned lazily over before pulling the blankets over her head to block out the sun, and she had fallen back to sleep within the minute.

Arme woke up again several hours later to find the sun had sank in the sky, a thick black darkness taking it's place. For a while she simply stared out the window, rolling over to sit up when she felt she couldn't lie down any longer. There were no sounds aside from light snores coming from the other rooms, and the violet haired girl quickly concluded it was some time early in the morning. All concerns about Elena seemed to be less urgent than they had before she had rested, and Arme breathed a sigh of relief. _That's right, let it go. I'm going to have to eventually, and it might as well be sooner than later. _As she shuffled through her bag and attempted to find some clothes to change into the amethyst eyed girl tried to move her thoughts somewhere else before the memory of Elena began to get painful. _Lass isn't here. _She noted with surprise, glancing at the sliding door, _but I wouldn't doubt he took the next room. _She felt tempted to push open the door to find out but restrained herself, instead walking into the bathroom. _It's nice, though... _The girl mused _I'd think someone keeping an eye on me would creep me out, but it doesn't. I feel... _Pressing a finger to her lips, Arme paused as she turned on the shower after taking off her battle outfit and waited for the water to warm up, _safe. When Lass' near I feel safe. _

A minute passed before she stepped into the shower, allowing the warm water to cascade over her. It felt nice, and allowed Arme to think clearly. _I wonder what's going to happen to the guild now that Elena's... Not there to run it. _For a brief moment she wondered if they would shut it down without the leader, but she quickly shook her head. _Elesis said they'd just get a new leader, right? After all, without a guild how would young magicians learn how to use spells? _Arme rested her head against the shower wall for a moment, letting out another sigh. _How are they going to tell the younger magicians what happened? _While most had been older than her at the guild there had been a few younger, and Arme knew it would be difficult for them. _Then again the older students had been with her longer... _Everyone at the guild had loved Elena. _And this just had to happen... Why? Why did you have to do this to us, Elena?_ It wasn't the first time she had asked herself this; it wouldn't be the last, the time the lavender haired magician had stepped out of the shower she felt uneasy again, and her thoughts were shooting about randomly.

"Life isn't fair." She mumbled, sliding on a clean battle outfit. _It probably would have been a good idea to bring some of my casual clothes... _It was no use regretting that she hadn't, assuming naturally that there wouldn't be much 'casual time' during the adventure. Throwing her worn clothes into a provided hamper and going to the door, she opened it and stepped into her room.

"What are you doing up so early?" Or... What she had thought was her room. Arme remembered her earlier observation of it being a joined bathroom as she looked around the room she had stepped into; mirroring her room almost exactly. The walls were slightly tinted a light blue, but there otherwise wasn't much to discern between the two rooms aside from the inhabitants. As she had expected Lass was the one sitting on the bed, sapphire eyes locked onto the magician. He was dressed in light blue pajamas, which Arme might have found odd had she been focusing.

"I couldn't sleep any more." Arme replied after a minute, eyes cast toward the ground. Lass nodded, looking her over as though he was comparing her condition to the previous day.

"And... do you feel all right?"

"Better." Arme admitted, "but why are you awake?"

"The shower." The assassin's short response seemed to somehow voice his relief at her feeling better.

"Sorry about that... And we haven't gotten a response from anyone yet?" Lass shook his head.

"The stupid bird can't fly **that **fast. It should take at least two more days for the letters to make it there, and we're not certain about response times. It might take a little while." Arme nodded, a sigh being issued as she looked down at the ground.

"Do... Do you know what's going to happen to the guild?" Lass blinked in confusion for a second, taking a breath when he realized what she was asking.

"Arme, don't worry about the guild. They'll probably have a meeting some time over the next month to elect a new leader, or they'll be without one for a while. The violet mages have been around for hundreds of years, they won't disappear because of what happened to Elena." Arme stared down at the ground while she listened to the silver haired assassin's voice, the words somewhat comforting. A comfortable silence filled the room for a moment, interrupted by Lass standing up.

"Hm... It's a bit early, but if you want you can start breakfast. It's an inn so we'd normally just wait to order food, but I'm sure they'd have no objections to you using the kitchen."

"Sounds good to me." The two walked over to the door into the hall, but Lass simply opened the door to let the magician out. At this action she turned to look at him in confusion.

"Aren't you coming?" She asked once out in the hall. Lass gestured to his body.

"If you wouldn't mind, I think I'd like to change first." He said plainly. Arme blinked, her cheeks turning ever so slightly pink. The door was closed and Arme made her way down the staircase, searching the main floor for the kitchen. After opening the doors to the bathroom, living room and a storage room she finally found the kitchen. It was a quaint room, smaller than the one at the castle. Tugging the door of the fridge open, she quickly scanned over the contents before pulling out a carton of blueberries and a pitcher of milk.

By the time Lass entered the kitchen two dozen blueberry muffins were baking slowly in the oven, Arme putting away the ingredients. She was struggling to get a bag of sugar up onto one of the higher shelves, standing on her toes as she attempted to push it onto the shelf. A small gasp was issued from the small magician as Lass took the bag from her, easily putting it in it's allotted spot in the cupboard. A few drops of water fell from the tips of his hair and onto her own as he hovered over her, and the violet haired girl surmised he had taken a quick shower before coming downstairs.

"Morning..." She murmured. The assassin nodded in response, walking over to the oven and peering inside.

"Muffins for breakfast?" He asked incredulously.

"Yup," Arme concurred as she put away the last of the items and turned to look back at him, "they should be done in a bit less than half an hour." Arme leaned against the counter, looking out the small, dusty window. The sun had began to seep into the sky, fiery reds chasing away the dark blues of the night. The clock on the wall read _5:30_. _A bit early for breakfast, but at least it's not still pitch black out. _From her experience the others would be awake in about an hour anyway; Elesis tended to wake up the moment food was prepared, bringing the others with her.

Arme's guess was right. Ten minutes after the muffins had been taken out of the oven the redheaded spear maiden had ran down the stairs, wandering into the dining room as she followed her nose.

"Muffins!" She exclaimed with a grin, snatching the still-warm blueberry filled food from the plate the had been arranged on. To Arme's surprise she didn't immediately scarf it down, taking a small bite before she turned to look at the magician.

"You feeling all right, Arme?" She asked curiously as she sat down next to the violet coloured girl.

"Yeah, thanks." The rest of the chase's reaction to Arme was similar; most staring for a minute or two before they felt as though it was okay to sit down. The magician smiled and told them all she was fine, taking small bites of her second muffin. By the end of the meal, with several people patting her on the back lightly and comfortingly, Arme was beginning to believe her own words.

* * *

"Arme? There's a letter for you!" Three days later this was what Jin called through Arme's door, causing the magician to sit up lazily on the bed. She stretched before rolling off the bed, looking out the window. She had slept in; from the light outside it appeared to be nearly noon. Rubbing her eyes, she made her way to the door, where Jin had started knocking rapidly. When the entrance was pushed open she accepted a letter pushed into her hands, looking at it in confusion.

"But... Didn't Lass say it would take three days for the letters to arrive over **there**? It should still be a while before the response is issued..." Jin shrugged.

"It appeared on the table a couple minutes ago, no one knows how it got there. It looks like it's from the mage guild though, and we all know they have their ways of doing things." Arme nodded automatically as she looked at the envelope; large violet letters reading out 'VMG' made it apparent who the senders were. She rubbed her eyes again as she attempted to wake herself up before reading the contents of the letter. When she figured she was attentive as she could be she broke the violet wax seal closing the envelope, pulling out a single sheet of paper. The words on it were concise to the point, and Arme read them over several times before she was certain of what was going on.

_Adressed to the Violet Magician __**Arme**__. _

_At precisely 1500 the majority of the violet mages shall preform a group teleport to your current location. From there, we, the VLC (Violet Leadership Council) and active members of the guild shall meet to decide upon a new leader. Please be prepared to come to the meeting with your current weapon as proof of rank. _

_-VLC_

"What's it say?" Jin asked, looking at Arme curiously. The magician sighed, turning back to her room.

"It's time to replace Elena. The others are coming in about three hours." She stated, shutting the door to her room again without another word to the fighter. When inside she lay back down on her bed, the letter clutched to her chest. _It was bound to happen sooner or later. And it's better than it not happening at all... It's just... _She rolled over to look at the plain wall, _It'll be difficult to get used to someone else making the orders. _That was for sure. Everyone in the guild had had full trust in Elena and would do whatever she asked without complaint. _And the next leader will be that good as well. _She assured herself silently, taking a deep breath. She held it for a minute before exhaling, allowing herself to calm down. The sound of a knock on the door entered her ears a moment later.

"Arme, can I come in?" The magician paused.

"... Yeah, Elesis." The redhead entered her room, looking around as though her surroundings were unusual (even though Arme had found out all of the rooms looked the same).

"Jin said the other violet mages are coming." She said, looking at Arme. The magician nodded.

"They're selecting a new leader?" Arme nodded again.

"So... You only have three hours to prepare." Arme sat up, tilting her head.

"I don't think there's much to prepare..." Elesis looked at the small clock sitting on the bedstand.

"There's **always **something to prepare at noon!" She insisted. Arme looked at her silently for a moment before she understood what the swords woman was implying, and her face blanched.

"Elesis, you came to get me to make lunch, didn't you?" Elesis flushed.

"Not **only **because of lunch!" She protested, helping the magician up off the bed. Arme rolled her eyes, laughing quietly.

"Who all's here right now?" Elesis paused for a second, pressing a finger to her lips.

"Well... Jin and Amy are in the recreation room, I'm here and I **think **Lass is but I'm not sure about that." The violet haired girl nodded at the speculation; Lass hadn't left the inn since they had entered. He spent most of his time watching over Arme, sitting in the room next to her when he left her to her own devices. She vaguely remembered hearing the shower about an hour previous; Lass was probably in his room.

"Well, I'll prepare lunch enough for all of us just in case, anything you had in mind?" Elesis shook her head, then nodded.

"Food!" Arme sighed.

"More specific?"

"... Edible food!" Arme couldn't help laughing as she left the room, the knight following.

"Thanks for the clarification." When the two made their way into the kitchen Arme wasn't surprised to see the elderly man who owned the inn already cooking.

"Good evening." He waved in the magician, staring at Elesis until she gave a small wave and meekly left. It had come to be a rule that the redhead wasn't allowed to be in the kitchen since she had accidentally eaten two guest's ordered lunches two days prior. Arme herself had been welcomed in when the innkeeper acknowledged she could cook, and she had opted to help him with filling orders the previous day. It seemed a good way to pass the time, more so to take her mind off the meeting that was occurring in less than three hours.

"Any orders for lunch yet?" She asked a gentle smile making it's way onto her face. The man nodded, motioning towards a small bulletin board with orders pinned to it. She scanned them over quickly, finally settling on a simply ordered plate of fettucini alfredo. _I'll make some extras for the others, as well... _Pulling out the pasta from the cupboard, she placed the package on the counter before grabbing a large pot from the cupboard under the sink. She looked at it somewhat warily before placing it under the tap to fill it with water, not quite comfortable with the cooking tool since her incident with second job. When she felt that the pot wasn't about to explode she looked over to the inn keeper, who was looking out the small door to the dining room somewhat curiously.

"Waiting for someone?" She asked after a moment. The elder man shrugged, looking back at her.

"That lad with the white hair, what was his name... ?"

"Lass?" Arme supplied, pulling the pot out of the sink and onto the stove.

"Yes, that one. Isn't he usually sitting at the table while you cook?" The magician nodded; It wasn't uncommon for Lass to sit down and watch the cooking process from the other room.

"I think he's upstairs right now." She replied, watching the water as it began to heat up.

"And the letter? What was it about, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Not at all... It was a letter from the violet mage guild, saying they'll be here in a matter of hours for a meeting."

"Ah..." It was here that the room lapsed into silence, both chefs making their designated meals without interrupting the other.

* * *

After the meal had been prepared and everyone had eaten Arme had followed Amy and Jin down to the recreation, featuring a small table for cards, a pool table and several other such pieces for entertainment. After an hour or so of being completely beaten at pool by Jin (which was hardly fair, seeing as she didn't know the rules) the voice of the hotelier came down the stairs; "Arme? A violet mage messenger's here for you."

"Coming!" Setting down her cue stick against the table, Arme waved at the two chasers in the room before making her way up the staircase. She walked past the elder man without a word, heading to the front door. A rather young boy was standing in the doorway, clothed in a purple cloak that let only a few of his azure strands of hair show. Grey eyes looked up at her and widened, the boy quickly dipping into a bow.

"Arme-san! All of the mages are assembled and awaiting your arrival!" He exclaimed hastily, looking nervous. Arme nodded, holding up a finger.

"Can you wait a second? I need to grab my pot from my room." The boy nodded, and Arme quickly made her way up the stairs to her room. The door between her and Lass' room had been open, and he was slightly visible, lying on his back with his head hanging off the end of the bed.

"They're here?"

"Yeah, I have to get my pot!" She replied, swiping her pot off the floor from next to her bag, "I'll be back... Some time, I'm not sure when the meeting'll be over." Lass nodded lazily as Arme shot out of the room and down the stairs to where the boy was waiting, seeming uncomfortable.

"Are you ready to go?" Arme nodded. With this gesture the boy led the way out the door, the violet haired girl following close behind.

"How many mages could come?" Arme questioned as they made their way down the street, the boy looking at each house as they passed.

"Somewhere between twenty-five and thirty-five," he commented, "Many were on missions and couldn't be reached." Arme sighed, still following along. They continued down the street until they reached a rather large, plain looking building. The violet haired magician stopped when the boy turned into the doorway, knocking on the door lightly. Arme would have thought no one could hear the quiet noise had the door not creaked open to reveal a girl slightly older than Arme, also wearing a cloak. Her hood, unlike the younger boy's, was down and revealed a length of jet black hair. Glancing between the two, she gave a small bow and pushed the door the rest of the way open.

"Please follow me, the others are waiting to begin." It didn't take long to reach the meeting room, and the door to it was pushed open quietly. Arme peeked in, and for a second just blinked in confusion. Aside from the small table in the corner of the room all there was was a large circle of cushions, most already sat on by people clothed in purple. That was probably the most outstanding thing about the room; everyone in it was purple. In the center of this circle lay four more cushions, each holding a different weapon. A rather inelegant staff sat on the first, a pot with a large skull on it sitting on the next. Beside that was a lamp, nearly covered by an old, dusty hat that lay on top of it. Lastly was a long violet staff, shining as though it had recently been cleaned. Despite it's confusing contents Arme still followed the two into the room, setting her pot down next to her before taking a seat. Once the three new arrivals to the room were settled the girl at the head of the circle cleaned her throat with a cough, gathering the attention of the group of magicians.

"Good evening, thank you to all of you who could make it. I, Ellyrine Endren, will be conducting this meeting in place of the former high magician Elena for obvious reasons." Once this statement had been let out it took a moment for Arme to make the connection between the girl sitting in front of her and the magician that had healed her in Serdin's castle.

"Though I'm certain those present realize our circumstances, I'll go over them once more. The high magician and leader of our guild, Elena, betrayed both the kingdom of Serdin and of Kanavan. Presenting a great danger to those around her through connections to the Dark Queen Kaze'Aze, she was immediately dealt with by the Grand Chase." Many eyes turned to Arme at that point, and the magician almost shivered. Though nothing was voiced she could feel the near accusation in some of their faces, mainly the younger mages. _Somehow this is your fault. Maybe if you hadn't killed her she could have changed. _

"This was the appropriate action to take. Now, however, we must decide upon a new leader. For these reasons a group teleport was necessary, bringing us to where we are thus far." Arme's eyebrows furrowed, and she raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"Why... Why did you all need to preform a group teleport? You were already assembled at the guild, weren't you? Why move the meeting here?" Ellyrine blinked.

"You aren't experienced in the art of over-seas teleportation as of yet, though it is a skill you will need to acquire soon. Not only were you here, but the body of Elena, which we needed to inspect to be certain no spells were still lingering around. Seeing as over-seas teleportation is easier in a group, in the end it made more sense to come here than have you bring Elena's body back to the guild. Things needed to be done as soon as possible, so we got organized as soon as the letter arrived." Another magician raised his hand, much older than Arme.

"How shall the next leader be decided?" Ellyrine bit her lip gently.

"Traditionally we would have the leader choose an heir. As this is quite clearly an unavailable method, we've decided upon another means. Assessing through abilities both current and potential along with general acceptance in the guild, we've comprised a list of several candidates to be the next leader." An male magician next to Ellyrine began speaking at this point, gesturing to the weapons on the ground as he spoke.

"I'm assuming you all remember me, but I'll re-introduce myself. I'm Lore Shire, and I'm generally out on missions... Some of you may not remember me because of this. At the current moment there are only five fully trained battle mages, only two of whom are here at the moment. These battle mages being myself and Ellyrine, we have decided to run the affairs of the guild until further arrangements have been made. Of warlocks we have only two, one of whom is planning on undergoing the battle mage's quest within the next month." Arme didn't question the number of warlocks; there were never more than a handful at most. Elena had explained to her that it was a rather restless job to stay at (being one from the top), so many mages who made it to that stage recklessly made to persue battle magician before their actual qualifications reached that of the job. Hardly any made it back unharmed, and most were lost to the ruins of Kastuille. _I won't let that happen to me when I become a warlock. _She made this mental note silently, looking over the lamp and hat.

"The rest of the avaliable magicians we have are divided between magicians and alchemists, though we have a great deal more of the former. These ranks were also taken into account when deciding upon our list of choices for a new leader." Suspense was beginning to fill the room as it began to sound like the candidates would be revealed soon, and Arme looked down at the ground.

"I'm sure many of you are wondering who these people are. Seeing as we have no reasons to further delay this information, I must add on to a note made previously at this meeting. Arme, we informed you that the group teleport was in order to be located close to Elena's body. This, while not a lie, was a half-truth. The reason this meeting was brought to Maurion was because we needed **you **to be present. Arme, at the current time, you are the most promising candidate for the new leader of the guild." A silence filled the room, and Arme's eyes shot up from the ground as they widened. No one moved for a minute until the short magician began shaking her head slowly, staring at Ellyrine as though she was crazy.

"I can't... I..." Arme's protest was cut off by that of both younger and older magicians, most in yells.

"Why **her**? Some of us have been training for dozens of years, and this girl of hardly three months is the 'most promising candidate'?"

"You're not giving the rest of **us **the chance to prove our worth?"

"It's only because she was accepted into the Grand Chase, isn't it?"

"She's just a girl that was lucky, nothing more! Her magic doesn't equal up to even half of most of ours!"

"She'll never measure up to be the magician Elena was-"

"**SILENCE, EVERYONE!**" The male magician snapped loudly, a concerned gaze on Arme.

"Arme, please don't refuse so quickly. I know everyone's shocked and confused, but please give us a moment to explain our reasoning. Yes, she may be new at magic, and only an alchemist. However, in the second month of being a magician were any of **you**able to achieve a job change? I highly doubt so. Furthermore, is there anyone else in this room aside from Lore and myself who can cast sufficiently without a medium?" Hushed whispers were beginning to fill the room at Ellyrine's words, and all eyes were still on the frozen girl.

"Perhaps it is because she was accepted into the Grand Chase. Do you know why? The Grand Chase only accepts those with potential, and they hadn't yet found a sufficient mage. Doesn't that alone tell you she has something different about her? To this day she's the third and last pupil Elena took on, and even Elena herself messaged me the first day of meeting her to tell me she had found a prodigy. I heard someone say she would never measure up to be the magician Elena was. I believe this is true. She will some day grow to be an even greater magician than Elena. It is for these reasons that we shall now present Arme with the lantern and warlock's cap worn by Elena. These pieces of equipment will grow to suit you, I believe." By the time Ellyrine had finished several of the magicians of the room had began to nod resignedly, and Arme herself seemed to be the only one who was completely in disagreement.

"I... I refuse." She whispered, lips dry and voice hoarse. Ellyrine tilted her head in confusion.

"But surely... Arme, please consider." Arme's head began to shake more quickly, and she stood up as the lamp and hat were pushed towards her.

"No! I'm a part of the Grand Chase, I have other duties to consider! I can't just run off to be the leader, especially considering how ill-suited I am to the job! I can hardly control the pot and you're trying to give me Elena's lamp? I can't do it!" She exclaimed, looking back at the cyan haired magician miserably. The small boy that had led her to the meeting and was sitting next to her tugged on her sleeve in an attempt to get her to sit down; she brushed his insistence off.

"You needn't use the lamp immediately, Arme. We've thought through this several times, you **are **qualified. As a young magician perhaps you don't have much experience with all of the weapons available, but that shall come in time. And as for your duties in the Grand Chase, perhaps a compromise can be made? Elena put her belief in your magicial abilities, we would like to do the same." Arme's head-shaking continued, the violet haired girl glaring at the floor.

"You said you had a list. Choose the next person on it, because I can't be what you're looking for. I **can't **replace Elena!" She emphasized. Ellyrine sighed.

"Arme, please be reasonable... Your guild needs you. At the very least take the hat and the lamp for the night and think about it." Arme was shaking as she reached down to pick up the mentioned objects, and she kept her focus away from the older magicians.

"I'll take them for the night, but... Don't expect a yes. I don't believe I'm ready for this, and I know several others here agree with me." She muttered, turning to the door. As she exited the room she threw the hat on her head, making it easier to carry both her pot and the lamp. _What's Ellyrine __**thinking**__? I can't handle a new weapon... I just got the pot less than a month ago! _Glaring down at the lantern with as much resentment as she could muster towards an inanimate object, Arme exited the building miserably.

_"Stupid girl... Refusing such a position even though your magic is so strong..." _Arme blinked at a voice in her ear, turning to look around her. For the volume of the voice she would have assumed someone to be right next to her, but no one was nearby. Frowning, the magician decided she had imagined it and continued on her way back to the inn.

_"Such a stupid girl." _The voice repeated again. This time Arme stopped, glaring around her. This time absolutely no one was around her, and Arme sighed in frustration.

"I'm not stupid!" She insisted loudly to no one in particular, irritation filling her as a laugh filled her head.

_"You're trying to convince me you have a brain in this empty head by yelling out loud and making people think you're insane? Clear out your thoughts and think properly, then perhaps your case will seem a bit more persuasive." _Arme growled quietly, crossing her arms as an embarrassed blush crossed her face. _I just went through that and now I have to deal with invisible people making fun of me? Just great. _A sigh sounded, and Arme looked around again, determined to find the culprit.

_"I'm not invisible. Perhaps if you __**used **__a small portion of the brain you claim to have you'd be able to find me?" _Arme picked up her pace, eyes still looking from side to side. _And now it can read my mind? Can this get any worse?_

_"Of course it can. I have access to your whole mind right now, I could just rifle through it and pick out some rather embarrassing things you'd rather people didn't know... Hm... If only Elena could have picked a soft spoken student for once... Well, I suppose it doesn't matter, and at the very least you seem to have a good potential. Looks like you'll be my new master for a while." _Arme stopped again, looking around. The brim of the hat covering her upper view, she had to tilt her head up to see. _With this stupid hat in the way I can't see anythin- The hat? _Arme gasped as she moved her lamp under her arm and pulled the offending item off her head, gaping at it as she held it in front of her. Two large purple eyes had appeared on it, and the gold band across the base was curved down into a contemplative frown.

"Well, seems like you can think. Though one would expect you to catch on faster..." Arme blinked, wondering at that point just how she was supposed to have foreseen her hat starting to talk to her. She began walking again as she stared at the hat silently, and a second passed before the hat began speaking again.

"I can't read your mind when I'm off your head, girl! Speak up!" It demanded, causing Arme to tilt her head.

"What... What **are **you?" She questioned as she neared the inn. The hat rolled it's eyes.

"I'm a hat, quite obviously. One enchanted years ago in the grand content of Xenia." Arme nodded idly as she pushed the front door open, entering the front room. To her surprise everyone was already sitting at the table, and they all turned to look at her in confusion.

"They... Gave you a hat?" Elesis asked in confusion. Arme both nodded and shrugged at the questioning statement, placing the hat down in the center of the table and placing the pot and lamp on the floor next to her. She then sat down in a seat, interest in the hat currently overtaking her misery over the conclusion of the meeting. Everyone in the room gasped when the hat made a slight bow, twisting around to look at them all.

"This would be the Grand Chase? A rather unimpressive looking bunch... Seeing as you must know, I will give you my name. It may seem a bit obvious, however it was bestowed upon me by my creator. I am the Mahou Boushi, passed along for generations through the Violet Mage Guild." Everyone in the room was silent aside from Amy, who snapped her fingers the moment the hat had named itself. She pressed a finger to her lips as though concentrating, gathering the attention of the entire room.

"Mahou Boushi... Magic Hat in Xnonian, right?" She finally stated. The hat nodded, it's golden rim turning up in a smile.

"It's good to see not all of you are incompetent." Arme huffed, lying her head down on the table. A hand was placed on her back, and she looked up to see Ronan.

"Why did they give you it? And from what I'm seeing, it looks like they handed over your lantern as well... Something odd is going on." Arme nodded feebly, standing up with a sigh.

"You never told us what the result of the meeting was." Lass added, "Did they decide on a new leader?" Arme bit her lip, directing her gaze to the floor.

"Yes. Me."

* * *

A/N: I'M SORRY! ;-; *prepares to be murdered* I haven't updated for more than a month... D; I'm so sorry about that... The worst part is that aside from school, I'll be honest... I really don't have a valid reason. I'm too easily distracted o_o;;

But there is good news! If you ignore this boring chapter, there are only about four to go! And they all **have **to be done by October 31st, so you **will **see the end of ITD this month! :D Thanks to all of you who are still reading!

-Utsuro

P.S. Did anyone actually remember Ellyrine from chapter 6? xD


	24. Realizations

A/N: I'll be honest, I've been waiting to write this chapter for a long time. A really long time. If all goes as planned it'll be pretty long. o_o

Disclaimer: And this section right here is why I hate beginning new chapters ;_; why must I be reminded every time that I don't own GC?

Chapter 23: Realizations

* * *

For a moment everyone simply stared at the back of the magician who was slowly retreating out of the room and towards the staircase.

"But you... What?" Lass' voice reached her, making the magician slowly turn around, "What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said. They want me to be the new leader of the guild. I was given the hat and lamp in hopes I would be able to advance to my next job as soon as possible." Elesis blinked, a frown coming to her face.

"They asked you to be the new leader?" There was a pause before she continued, " ... What did you say?" Arme shrugged.

"I told them no. I can't be a leader of a guild and a member of the Grand Chase at the same time, it wouldn't work well." At this most of the expressions of the others in the room seemed relieved, though some stayed worried.

"Arme, if they asked you to me their leader they surely had a good reason... Did you listen to them?" Ronan asked, concern voiced in his words.

"I did, but they don't need me. There are others with much better qualifications-"

"The stupid girl didn't listen at all." The hat interrupted her from the table, "If she had, she would have realized how determined Ellyrine was to have her as the next leader. Chances are that that girl won't let Arme return me until she accepts, either. They need a new leader badly."

"Yeah, but we need Arme too! They can't just take her because they feel like it! I wasn't even consulted about this beforehand!" Elesis was beginning to speak more loudly as she continued, glaring at Mahou Boushi as though it was the hat's fault the guild wanted Arme. Ronan put a hand on her shoulder.

"Elesis, you have to think about it through their perspective... I know the Knight's guild has had the same leader throughout all the time you've been in it, But a couple years ago we lost the leader of the Kanavan Royal Guard during a mission. For the next few months the guild was a mess... No one know what was going on and everyone was arguing over the new leader. I can't blame them for wanting to resolve this quickly." Arme looked at the floor, listening as the different members voiced their opinions.

"I'm not ready to lead a guild, though..." Arme murmured, attracting the attention of the other members again, "I'm not even a sufficient alchemist yet..." Ronan looked down at the table, eyes half lidded.

"I'll admit it's pretty odd for them to choose you... Generally for a leader there's an age restriction and a requirement of fourth job..." Mahou Boushi sighed.

"They're bypassing those rules for a good reason. Stick a war staff in that girl's hands and I can assure you she would have no problem with it after a little while's practice. I've fought with hundreds of magicians before, and even now her power surpasses a good half of them... Or it would if she could actually use her brain." Amy picked up the hat by it's tip, looking at it with a frown.

"That's not very nice, Bou! Arme's your new master, you can't be mean to her!" The hat's large purple eyes blinked, staring at Amy.

"Don't refer to me in such an informal manner!" It snapped, "I'll give her respect once she's earned it!" It began swinging back and forth in her grip in a futile struggle, not getting far.

"But in any event, Arme said no so they'll back off, right?" Elesis asked, standing up.

"Hardly. They may have other options, but Arme is the most promising one. They'll be doing everything in their power to get her to agree. Whether she actually ends up as the leader or not is based on the girl's determination." Elesis glanced at Arme, who in turn looked at the floor.

"I... I can't think this through right now. I'm going to go to my room." She stated, turning back to the staircase. This time she wasn't stopped as she made her way up them and to the beige inn room.

Flopping down on her bed after she deposited the weapons against the wall, she let out a loud sigh before looking over to the night stand. _Why would they need __**me **__to lead the guild? There are so many more promising people... No. I'll think about this tomorrow, when I'm thinking clearly. _It was true that she didn't seem to be in the right emotional state to deal with extremely important matters at that moment; her eyes were stinging with tears of frustration from the fact that they had even thought to put her in such a position when she clearly had other obligations. Her book on alchemy was sitting neglectedly on the nightstand near the rest of her few belongings; she stretched to pull it onto the bed in front of her. Information displayed itself openly on the pages, and she looked over them slowly. She had finished looking over an entire page before she came to the abrupt realization she wasn't actually taking in any of the information on the page. With a sigh she set it aside and placed her head down on the covers, uncertain on what to do.

After closing her eyes for a few minutes and attempting sleep she realized it wouldn't be possible; she was far to restless to even lie still. Sitting up and pulling her legs up in front of her, she leaned back on the wall. A crash came from the floor below and made Arme jump, staring at the floor with concern. A minute later her door creaked open, an ever-so familiar assassin stepping in.

"What just broke?" She asked when he had walked over to sit next to her silently. The silver haired boy shrugged.

"Elesis' patience and a lamp that she tripped over on her way to the door. She's decided she's going to talk to Ellyrine and Lore about this whole thing."

"Ah." Silence filled the room, the only sound coming from the slight shifting of the blanket as Lass leaned forward. He glanced over to her for a moment before looking back down at the blanket, looking over at her again after a minute as though he had something to say. In turn the magician only stared back inquisitively, watching him with a steady gaze until he met her eyes.

"Arme?" The magician nodded.

"Yeah?" The assassin breathed heavily, letting out a sigh before he continued.

"Elesis never asked, but... Do you... Do you actually **want **to be the leader of a guild?" Arme's eyes widened, and for a moment she stared at Lass as though she hadn't understood him. Then, taking a breath, she looked to the ceiling.

"I guess I didn't really think about it. I mean..." She paused.

"You only rejected it because you're in the chase?" Lass' voice was incredulous, and the magician shrugged indifferently.

"Sort of. It's not like I really deserve the position, either..."

"I didn't ask if you deserved it. I asked if you **want **to be the leader, Arme." He pressed, sapphire eyes locking onto her violet orbs.

"Well... If I was the leader of a guild I wouldn't be able to spend time with any of you any more. Not to mention that without you around I'd probably just trip down a staircase and die." Lass chuckled lightly, nodding.

"I can't say I doubt that." Arme looked down at her lap.

"And... I know so far I haven't really seemed to do much other than get injured, but I'd like to think when the time comes that you guys really need a magician I'll be there." The thief seemed almost relieved at her words.

"And I wouldn't have any other magician in our team." He responded with a gentle smile, ruffling her hair as he often did.

"So no, right now I don't want to be a leader of the guild. Maybe some day, but... Not now." Lass nodded, finally standing up and stretching.

"Arme, so long as you don't want to they can't force you. It'll be fine." He said, looking to the door, "But I'm going to head downstairs. They were a bit worried to ask, but I know a few of the others were concerned that you actually wanted to be the guild leader. Especially Amy."

"Ah, really? I didn't think it would worry them that much..." Lass tilted his head, turning back to her.

"Arme, you know everyone cares about you, right?" He said, "and as long as we can help it, we're going to keep you with us." Lass exited the room after saying this, leaving Arme to pull the alchemy book back onto her lap. The assassin's visit had calmed her anxiety quite a bit, allowing her to actually take in the words in front of her. _It'll all work out fine._

_

* * *

_

Despite the idea of everything working out fine the next week had piled on stress, each day taking it's toll on the magician. As Mahou Boushi had predicted Ellyrine hadn't given up when Arme had tried to return the hat the next day, refusing to take it back. _That hat rightfully belongs to you, as does the lamp. _She continued coming to the inn each day (some days bringing Lore, who didn't really say much) to attempt to convince Arme to accept, and this had put the navy blue haired magician on rather bad terms with Elesis. Ryan and Jin had returned five days after the meeting, and they were equally surprised to find out about Arme's current standings with her guild. The violet magician was surprised when Ryan had took a more insistent side with her, agreeing that it would be a bad idea for the magician to become the leader. They, however, weren't in a position to do much. Nearly every waking moment for them was spent practicing their new weapons or sparring with eachother, making Arme feel almost guilty for the lack of practice she had had with the pot (though over the last week she had nearly finished the book and done a bit of training).

That morning Arme was simply lying on her bed, waiting for the knock on her door that was certain to come. Ellyrine had been arriving fairly early each morning, and looking at her clock Arme knew it was almost time. Her head pressed into her pillow, she was shocked when she heard the doorknob turn without a knock. _Guess she's decided not to bother with the formality today. _Waiting without looking up, Arme only rolled over when her shoulder was tapped.

"... Lass?" Arme's eyes widened, and she moved to sit up. Lass was looking at her with a contemplative look on his face, eyes focused.

"... Ellyrine is going to be here soon, you should probably go." She murmured, "It'll just be the same old stuff." A frown took to the silver haired assassin's face and he shook his head, placing his hands on his hips.

"No. Arme, you haven't been... All right over the last week." The magician blinked.

"I'm fine, Lass! She'll have to give up soon, at the very latest when Ronan and Elesis finish gathering their third job items." For the last few days Ronan and Elesis had been going out to gather the required items for their third job, returning rather late in the day. Of the three requests Lass' to get third job had been the only one rejected, and they weren't certain of why. _'It says in the letter that the assassin's leader believes I have the power to obtain third job through another means,' _the silver haired boy had explained irritatedly.

"That's the thing though, you're **not**!" He exclaimed irritatedly, "It's taking too much out of you! You're not nearly as... Happy, any more, Arme. Every time she visits you're worn out, and she's trying to make it out as though you're abandoning your guild or something!" He let out a heavy breath and ran a hand through his hair, pausing for a moment. He then reached into his pocket, and hesitantly pulled something out.

"What...?" Arme stared when he opened his palm, revealing a thin strand of blue.

"This is a one-time thing, all right? Now accept before I change my mind." Arme didn't have to ask what he meant; she took the ribbon from his hand with a smile and walked over to the dresser to grab a brush while the assassin sat down on the bed. Returning, the magician sat down quietly behind him and began humming as she ran the brush through his silver locks.

"Thanks, Lass." She nearly whispered, keeping her eyes trained on his hair.

"It's no big deal. My hair probably could use a good brushing now and again. The pony tail thing might hurt my dignity a bit, but I'll get over it." Arme nodded, her smile widening.

"After all, with a manly name like Lass you surely have a lot of dignity to be hurt." She remarked, gathering his hair. Lass scoffed.

"Hey! My name was hardly my choice!" Leaning back to look at her as she wound the ribbon around his hair, Arme was shocked to see him smiling back.

"I would hit you right now if I wasn't so relieved to see you smile." He remarked calmly, watching her sparkling violet orbs with interest.

"I'll have to keep smiling then, won't I?" The magician responded, brushing his bangs into place. Despite this statement, her face immediately fell when the chime on the front door sounded, her hands falling to her sides.

"Ellyrine's here. I should go down and..." Her half-hearted mumble was cut off by a violent shake of Lass' head, the assassin turning around and standing up.

"Not today." He stated firmly, leaning forward and picking her up. Arme gasped, a light blush falling on her face.

"What are you-?"

"Let's go." He said with a smirk, turning to the window, "It's not like you'll gain anything from staying here."

"B-but Ellyrine's downstairs and she's going to be up here soon-"

"And that's exactly why we're going **now**!" Lass replied, throwing open the window pane and slipping out with Arme still tightly in his grasp. Her heart was racing for several reasons, not all of which she could identify. The sapphire eyed boy wasted no time exiting the yard of the inn entering the small park nearby with a grin.

"Is this a-allowed?" Arme questioned as he set her down, looking around at the small swings and slide.

"Hm... Not really, but who cares?" He said, "She already knows your answer." He said, looking over his shoulder at the inn where Arme's open window was still visible.

"And.. You know we're in a public area with your hair up, right?" Arme continued, her smile returning. Lass' eyeds widened and he reached up to his hair, uttering a quiet curse.

"Well, this isn't very good for my reputation."

"Don't take it out!" The lilac haired girl insisted, "It looks cute!" The assassin stared at her for a minute before complying and pulling his hair away from the tie. Looking around the area, he pointed in a direction. Arme's eyes followed, and she soon came to the realization that he was pointing at a small forest path.

"Fine. If I'm leaving it up we're going somewhere less public." Nodding, The amethyst eyed girl took Lass' hand and began to lead the way. For a second the silver haired boy tensed; it only took him a moment to relax at her hold. Silence fell between them when they entered the somewhat dark woods; the sunlight was hardly visible as it peeked through the leaves. Arme still observed what she could, feeling oddly calm despite the fact that she had just blown off an important meeting.

"Think Ellyrine will be mad when we get back?" She asked, glancing over a Lass. The assassin shrugged.

"Perhaps annoyed with me. I've only really seen her about... four times over the last two years, but she doesn't seem like the type of person to get angry easily. Though then again, she also doesn't really seem like the type of person who would continue insisting you lead the guild though you've told her several times you don't want to." Arme's gaze moved to the ground.

"But... They really do need a new leader."

"And they'll get one! It doesn't have to be you, Arme. She's only trying to convince you of that because otherwise there's no way you'll accept." Arme nodded gingerly, still not looking at the thief. Lass frowned at her swift change in mood.

"Now, I've pretty much kidnapped you from Ellyrine's meeting to get you **away **from thoughts like that. Let's not go back to them." He reminded her lightly, "How about telling me exactly how much in damage repairs we're going to owe this inn by the time we leave from all of your alchemist experiments?" Arme's cheeks heated up from embarrasment, and she looked away. The forest surrounding them was still dark, though she could assume they were getting closer to the center by the thick crown of the trees.

Almost fifteen minutes of idle chatter had passed when Lass stopped suddenly, his grip on Arme's hand loosening for a second and then tightening. Arme stopped at the same time, turning to him inquisitively. The assassin's eyes were darting left and right as he surveyed the area, turning around to look behind them quickly.

"Lass?"

"Wait. I could have sworn I heard..."

The next event happened so quickly Arme had difficulty realizing what had happened. There was a crack of a branch in a tree above, accompanied by an almost explosive rustle of leaves as figures burst in from the dark woods surrounding the pair of chasers. A large, heavy body had collided with her back, force sending her staggering forward a few feet and wrenching her hand from Lass. Before she could regain her footing a cloth was pressed over her nose and mouth, causing a burning yet sweet smell to fill her lungs.

"**Arme!**" She could hear Lass yell out her name but wasn't able to see him from where she was, and panic began to fill her as a light haze started settling in her mind. _What's going on? _There was no time to work that out; it would have to be done later. Her hands had been pinned to her sides by a large arm encircling her stomach; it didn't impair her in the least from conjuring two large flames. This caught onto the sleeves of the man who was holding her, and he instantly released her, dropping the cloth from her face to roll on the ground and attempt to put out his sleeves.

"Damn it, that bitch is a magician!" this was said by a voice Arme couldn't identify, but could easily assume was one of the attackers. Wasting no time, Arme spun around as she assessed the situation. She and Lass were surrounded by at the very least twenty people, four of whom were attempting to wrestle the assassin down. Without his scimitar he was having difficulties fighting them off; Arme had found out a few months prior that he wasn't all that skilled with hand-to-hand combat.

"**Someone get the girl!**" Arme's heart raced again, and she turned just in time to see a thinner man than the one that had previously attacked her lunging. To this she hastily used reverse gravity, the effects noticeably weaker than usual and only lifting her assasilant up off the ground a few feet. This also caught two others she hadn't noticed approaching her, setting them off balance and allowing her to make a dash towards Lass. Before she could get there several others made their attempts to grab her; one outright missing while another had to be fended off with a short lightning bolt. This left her vulnerable for a moment, and the others took full advantage of it. _This is hopeless! _Her mind screamed as a hand snaked up and grabbed her ankle. Shaking it rapidly in an attempt to free herself, she was grabbed by two others before she could get loose. Another cloth was pressed to her face; Arme shook furiously as she attempted to struggle away.

"**Arme! Teleport out of here!**" At that point Lass' scream made no sense to her; her mind getting more and more fuzzy by the second as she tried to create another fireball, a shield, a lightning bolt; anything, at that point. _If I teleport out of here you'll be alone, I can't do that. _Something inside her was stating calmly. It was most likely the drenched rag that was calming her; lulling her into a state where she felt she could hardly keep awake. _Even if I did try to teleport, how do you expect me to focus enough to get out of here? ... But... What can I do? _Looking up at Lass, she felt herself growing more helpless. Lass was always the one she turned to when things were going bad, and at that point he was completely immobilized.

"Stop using chloroform on the girl, it'll be no fun if she's actually unconscious." A voice rose above the jumbled voices of the crowd, making Arme turn her head. The cloth was removed from Arme's face, though she couldn't feel any change. _I'm so tired... _The haze was intensifying as she tried to locate someone in the crowd who at the very least appeared more important than the others, or someone who looked slightly different. In the end she was unable, the only one she could pick out as unique being Lass. _I'm sorry I'm so useless. _Her mind babbled, hoping he would understand, _If I was someone else this wouldn't be a problem. If I was Elesis I wouldn't be pinned down like this, and you wouldn't be in danger. I'm sorry. _Her thoughts were only interrupted when a widely smirking man kneeled in front of her, and Arme felt her mind fill with dread. _This is bad. This is really, really bad._

"She's pretty. Pr'aps not worth the trouble, but pretty." A hand reached out and cupped her chin, forcing her to look up.

"**Don't touch her!**" Lass' voice entered the jumble in the background, attracting the attention of the man for a moment.

"Shut the pathetic assassin up." He commanded, "and make sure he can see everything." Arme's attention turned to Lass as much as she could implore it to, and she was vaguely able to see one of the men holding him deliver a knee to his stomach. The assassin gritted his teeth defiantly, and Arme watched him with concern. Putting what left of her mana she could together the small magician attempted making a flame; the best she achieved was a small flare that shot up and faded out a moment later. All it did was attract the attention of the man again, drawing his eyes from Lass. _Can you get out of here, Lass? I don't know if you can, but if you can please run. Leave me and get out of here. It's okay, you don't have to protect me all the time. I'm sorry._

Lass was unable to move as he watched Arme's head bow to the ground, and he knew she was more than likely unconscious. If not, close to it. Growling in frustration as he watched the large man reach out to pick her head up again, he struggled furiously.

"**Let her g-**" Immobilized, he was powerless to stop a fist from colliding with his stomach and cutting off his sentence before he could finish. From the force of both blows something in his mind provided him with the fact that he would probably bruise soon, though that was easily the least of his worries at that point. _What do I do? I can't let them hurt Arme, I promised her... I promised her I would protect her! _

"**Stop!**" This cry had taken almost a desperate edge to it, and it earned him a blow to his jaw. The man in front of Arme didn't spare him a glance, and Lass could just barely see her face from over the man's shoulder. Her eyes were glazed over but still open, and they met his pleadingly. _She's still concious. _The magician blinked slowly, and Lass strained to focus on her lips, which were moving slowly in a silent word. She repeated it twice before he could understand, and his heart stopped for a second.

Run.

_She... She's about to get __**raped **__and she wants me to __**run**__! _This was the last coherent thought Lass had before something snapped, and sudden, sharp light filled the area. It filtered from Lass like a glow, cuccooning him until the assassin was no longer visible. All of those in the area were by then watching, some backing up. Those who had been holding him let go as though the light had burned their hands, and they too stepped back. A crack sounded as a long, straight length of white hair shot out of the cuccoon of light, dispelling the rest of it until the pale boy was once again visible. His outfit had entirely changed to one featuring mainly black, though blue was around the waist and throughout the top and pants. His once-weaponless hands had large claws on them, held on around the wrist by a heavy gold band. A black scarf fell from his neck to near the ground, slightly longer than his hair, and a black and gold headband had been wound over his forehead. The only thing that stayed entirely the same about the boy was his eyes, a hatefully icey shade of azure directed soley to the person who had dared to touch Arme.

"D... Dark assassin..." One from the crowd whispered disbelievingly. The next voice that entered the fearful silence was the white haired boy's himself.

_"Hypersonic Step." _What happened after he said this was difficult to make out; none in the forest able to even see Lass as his blades cut through them. For a minute cries and screams of fear filled the forest; they were reduced to moans of pain after. When all was done the silver haired boy stood in the middle of what looked like a war zone, all around him severely bleeding save one. Lass surveyed the damage silently. While bleeding the people on the ground seemed to be alive, watching him fearfully with a begging look on their faces. His eyes were cold as he looked at them, showing no pity.

"If you want to leave, get the hell out of here before I change my mind." Those who could move began struggling to their feet, those who couldn't shirking as far as they could away from the blade-wielding dark assassin. His eyes only warmed once they landed on Arme, and he stepped closer to her cautiously. The two who had been holding her back were both fallen on the ground, as well as the man in front of her kneeling body. Though their eyes were open they displayed no focus, and something told Lass they were dead. This was something he pushed off, instead focusing on the small magician. She was looking at him with a shaky gaze, and her arms were wound around her waist. She was still heavily under the influence of the chloroform, and had the minimal understanding of what had just occurred.

"You... You're safe now." He murmured, reaching out to press a hand to her cheek, "I protected you." Arme nodded, eyes still wide.

"There's... A-a lot of bl... blood..." She stated idly, placing a hand over Lass' own.

"I know. I'm sorry, you should never have seen this... Close your eyes and go to sleep. It'll all be fine when you wake up." Arme blinked slowly and nodded, leaning forward and against Lass. The dark assassin picked her up carefully, making sure not to graze her with his claws carried her securely in his arms. Taking a deep breath and one last look back at the area they had just come from, Lass began to make his way back down the path from which they had come.

Even as close to unconciousness as she was, Arme could feel when tears rolled down from his cheeks and dripped onto her own.

"Welcome back- Lass, what the hell happened to you!" Elesis gasped from the table in the main room, staring at the bloodied dark assassin and magician with fear, "Arme... Is she all right? Who's blood is that?" Lass didn't give either question a response, looking at the rest of the people at the table. Ellyrine and Ronan were sitting there; most of the others were probably asleep. As it was the two blue haired people were giving Lass the same look Elesis had; had the others been there their reaction would have been the same.

"Ellyrine, Ronan, gather as many healing mages as you can quickly and send them into the forest. If you enter through the park there should be some injured people about ten minutes in." Lass instructed somewhat shakily, his voice giving away fear similar to their own. Neither of the people addressed questioned him; both stood up and made their way to the door immediately. This left only Elesis and Lass, the white haired boy leaving a moment later to make his way to the staircase. Elesis tagged along, staring at his back incredulously.

"Are you planning on telling me what happened?" She demanded, receiving no response from the dark assassin. He remained silent to all of her questions until they had reached Arme's room, where the azure-eyed boy set down the magician. When he had done this he sat down on the bed next to her, smoothing her violet strands of hair before he turned to look back at Elesis.

"She was drugged with chloroform, she should be fine when she wakes up. None of this blood is hers, either." Elesis blinked slowly.

"Ch.. Chloroform? Lass, what **happened**?" Lass avoided her gaze, turning to Arme again. It was only then that she realized his eyes were lightly red, his cheeks wettened. She went quiet upon seeing this, waiting for Lass to say something. The dark assassin was also silent; he started speaking only once Elesis had thought he was going to ignore her completely.

"Ellyrine was coming again this morning, I decided to get Arme out of here before she had to go through the same thing again. We were walking through the forest when... We were attacked by some people, I don't know how many. There were a lot, though... Arme... Arme was attacked at the same time I was by some guy with a rag soaked in chloroform, and four guys came at me. In the rush I didn't bring my scimitar... You should already know how I do in hand-to-hand combat. Using magic Arme was able to get away from that guy... She tried to come help me, but she got grabbed by two others before she could make it. From there they drugged her until she couldn't use magic, and some other guy showed up. I couldn't do anything, anything at **all**, even when he... He was going to rape her. And Arme... She was barely concious, and... She told me to **run**. She was about to be raped and she had the nerve to try and tell me to **run**." He let this word out almost bitterly, hand clenching into a fist at his side.

"I... I'm not sure what exactly happened, but I snapped. Everything started glowing white, and the next thing I knew I was holding these claws. I felt hate... So much hate for the bastard who thought he could touch Arme like that and get away with it. After that... Everyone was lying there, bleeding. The three around Arme... I'm certain they were dead. Elesis, I **killed **three people, maybe more." Tears had began to fall silently down his cheeks, and his breathing had become heavy. Elesis simply stared at him, eyes wide.

"Lass..." The white haired dark assassin stood up, arms and legs shaking.

"It's just like back then." He murmured quietly, pushing open the door to his room and slamming it shut behind him before Elesis could say anything. The redhead stared at the door for a moment before taking Lass' previous position on Arme's bed, pulling her legs up to her chest and lacing her fingers at the back of her head. She remained in this position for several minutes, looking up only when she heard Arme shift next to her. She turned to look at the magician as she awoke, amethyst eyes looking around in a panic until they landed on Elesis.

"E... Elesis? Where's Lass? What..." Her voice trailed off as she thought about what had happened, sitting up.

"He... Where is he?" She mumbled, looking down at her lightly bloodstained outfit with a shiver.

"He's in his room, I think. But Arme, I... He looks pretty rough right now." Elesis advised, watching Arme swing her legs over the side of the bed and press a hand to her head.

"My head is killing me..." Still, she turned to her bag and began rifling through to pull out a clean battle outfit. After changing quickly in the bathroom she stood outside the door, hesitating for only a moment before she pushed open the door into Lass' side. At first she couldn't see him; simply the pair of claws deposited at the side of the bed. Looking around again, she noticed the bundled up covers, and a long white pony tail lying off the side of the bed.

"Lass?" Arme said worriedly, sitting down next to the dark assassin. He didn't respond, and the magician reached out to tug the blanket off him. When she did this she recieved a rather halfhearted protest, the assassin's hands holding on lightly, but nothing enough to stop her. She finally managed to remove the blanket entirely, leaving the white haired boy in front of her. He was still in his bloodied battle outfit, facing toward the wall.

"Lass? Are you all right?" She asked, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. Before she could Lass flinched and sat up, moving out of the way. He didn't meet her eyes, and pushed himself to the furthest corner of the bed. Arme watched in confusion, retracting her hand slowly.

"Arme, I... Not right now. Please go, I can't talk to you right now." He whispered. Arme bit her lip, moving over so the assassin was once again within arm's reach.

"Lass, I'm sorry I was so useless, but please talk to me. I'll try not to be a burden the next time, just... Talk to me." Lass' eyes opened, and he quite suddenly grabbed her arm to pull her closer and allow their eyes to meet.

"You think I'm mad because you couldn't fight off twenty people on your own?" He asked forcefully. Arme paused before nodding lightly.

"You... Arme, that's not it. That's not it at all." Arme stared back at him evenly.

"Then tell me what it **is**!"

"You should have teleported out of there when you first had the chance!" He exclaimed.

"Then you would have been alone, Lass! I was supposed to leave you alone in a horde of attackers?"

"If that was what it took to get out of there!" Frustration was evident in his tone.

"You thought I would-" Before she could continue she was quite suddenly pulled into an embace, and her eyes widened. Lass' arms were tightly around her, preventing pretty much any movement.

"And you thought I would run if I got the chance? How could you have the idiodicy to even suggest that?" He questioned angrily, "I said I would protect you. Arme, I-" His sentence cut off abruptly and he let go of her, pushing off the bed immediately and turning to the door. He left the room without another word, leaving Arme more confused than she had been when she entered the room.

* * *

"No, Lass! I'm not going to allow you to just do that!" Ronan entered the main room the next night to the scene of Lass and Elesis in the main room, Elesis standing angrily with her hands placed firmly and Lass with his head resting on the wood.

"Do what?" Ronan asked calmly, taking a seat. Elesis turned to look at him with a cross between a plea and the anger directed at Lass.

"Ronan, tell him he can't just leave the chase!" She demanded loudly. Ronan nearly gasped, turning to look at the white haired boy.

"Lass, you... Why are you trying to leave?" He asked, trying to maintain his calm. The dark assassin turned to him, looking at him as though it should have been obvious.

"Ronan, you were there yourself yesterday. I **killed **three people and injured eightteen others, and those are only the ones we found. Those were **humans**, Ronan, not just another monster." The dragon knight looked at a loss for what to say.

"Don't be stupid, Lass! You **had no choice**, and those people were already on the death sentence list for if they were found! Have you even told Arme you're trying to do this?" The sapphire eyed boy looked away.

"Of course not. She'd try to stop me."

"And she should. Weren't you the one that promised to protect her? How are you supposed to do that if you leave?" Lass paused before answering Ronan's question, glaring at the wall.

"She has you all. I have to leave before it's too late." Elesis and Ronan looked at him in confusion.

"Lass, before **what's **too late?" Ronan asked, watching the white haired thief's expression from what he could see. Lass' expression of disconcern had fallen to one of sadness, his eyes downcast.

"I..." His tapered off quickly, and he didn't appear to want to continue. Folding his arms on the table, he lay his head on them.

"You what?" Ronan prompted.

"I think I..." He continued, but his voice was muffled by his arms.

"Just spit it out already!" Elesis snapped, ruby eyes half-lidded and mouth in a frown. There was another pause.

"I... I think I'm falling for Arme." He mumbled helplessly, burrowing his head further against his arm. A brief silence filled the room, exchanged for Elesis' laughter moments later. Lass looked up at her and glared, clearly distressed.

"This is hardly funny, Elesis!" Lass insisted, appearing near tears, "I **can't**!" Despite this Elesis didn't stop laughing, holding her stomach until a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Oh, but it is. You **think **you're falling for her? Hate to burst your bubble, but the rest of us knew you fell for her hard months ago!" She laughed, earning a look of disdain from Ronan.

"Elesis, please..."

"Ronan, you have to admit it's been pretty obvious this entire time!" Elesis exclaimed.

"Well, it sort of has, but still. Control yourself, Elesis. You're not making the situation better." The spearmaiden let out a sigh and began calming herself, looking back at Lass.

"All right, sorry. But Lass, you do have to accept that you've already fallen for her." The dark assassin shook his head, eyes wide.

"Elesis, I **can't**! You **know **why!" Elesis frowned.

"Maybe it'll turn out better than you're expecting it to!"

"There's no other way for it **to** turn out!" He stood up, turning away, "and even if **that **happens, I'm not the best for her. Which it won't."

"And Arme gets no say in this?" Ronan inquired.

"Not if she's going to choose something that'll be bad for her in the end."

"Lass, you **don't know**. Just tell her... If you don't, you'll regret it." Lass made no acknowledgement of these words, leaving the room immediately and storming outside. Elesis sighed as she watched him leave, turning to Ronan.

"Do you think he'll actually tell her?"

"I doubt it, but we can hope."

* * *

"And why have you not gone to see him today, then?" Arme pressed her hands to her ears to shut out the voice of Mahou Boushi, rolling onto her side. The hat was sitting on her dresser, looking at her skeptically.

"For such a mage you act far too much like a child." It chided, "You're far too determined on what you can and can't do."

"I'm not far too determined. You just think I can do too much." She responded quietly.

"And you're telling me talking to the ninja-boy is too difficult a task for you to comprehend?" It asked. Arme frowned, turning back around to glare at the hat.

"He doesn't want to talk to me." She said, "Now would you be quiet?" The hat rolled it's eyes.

"And you would know he doesn't want to talk because... ?" Arme sighed.

"Because if he wanted to, he knows where to find me. He switched rooms with Amy earlier today, and that's a pretty clear message."

"It's not exactly as though you've been making yourself a prime target to talk to. Have you even inquired about the details of yesterday?" Arme nodded.

"I asked Ronan, but he wouldn't tell me!"

"May I suggest that he wanted to you to talk to the dark assassin?" Arme buried her head in her pillow.

"He may want me to, but Lass **doesn't**! Can you drop this?"

"Listen. All I'm telling you to do is give him the proper opportunity to talk to you, at least. I assure you I've been around for hundreds of years, I've been on the heads of many mages and I've dealt with problems like this before." Arme sighed, sitting up.

"I doubt you've actually dealt with something like this before." She muttered. Even so, she walked quietly over to the window, pushing it open with a dull hope.

* * *

A/N: I love long weekends 8D Had to go away, but at least it means I wasn't distracted while writing! Happy thanksgiving Monday, everyone! (Yes, it's thanksgiving for us Canadians :3) This chapter was a bit shorter than I expected due to my sister insisting I finish it to go play musashi with her, but it's still really important! Anyone feel like 'FINALLY, LASS!' for a moment there? xD Thanks for reading~!

Another short note is an apology for the lack of spaces some times D; When I edit the document in 's document editor thing it'll often take out a space between bolded and non-bolded text. I have no idea why o_o

-Utsuro


	25. A Hopeless Memory

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Nancy, a person close to me who passed away days ago. She was the most selfless person I've ever met, I'll miss her greatly.

Disclaimer: As per usual, I don't own Grand Chase D;

Chapter 24: A Hopeless Memory

* * *

_Tell her? Why would Elesis even __**suggest **__that? _Lass' thoughts were everywhere. He sat in a tree outside the inn's back yard, glaring between his hands and the building periodically. _Stupid Elesis. She should know... What would happen to Arme... _Growling in frustration, he crossed his arms as a strong urge to punch the tree ran through him. _How did this even happen? I promised myself I wouldn't ever fall for someone. I have far too much to repent for... Certainly too much to even consider being with her. I should have known something was wrong when Ryan accused me of being to protective of her. _Sighing, he pressed a hand to his forehead. _Well, it's too late to do anything about it now. But what do I __**do **__about it? _Standing up restlessly, he jumped down to the ground when a sense of unease filled him. He took a deep breath and leaned against the trunk, waiting a minute for the feeling to fade before he pushed away from the wood.

_Elesis is just being stupid, _his mind repeated as he began pacing back and forth, _I need to leave. I __**have **__to before I can't stop myself from telling her. Yesterday was bad enough... _He stopped for a second, tracing his throughts back to the moment he had hugged Arme. _I shouldn't have done that. _And so he went on, continuing to silently list all the faults he had made in his behavior around the violet mage.

_But... I still should have protected her. I don't regret that. _From that thought he began thinking more and more about the magician, until his mind was filled with thoughts of the smiling, lilac haired girl. _How will she fare when I'm gone? ... She has everyone else. Though... What if something happens? _He almost involuntarily glanced at the inn again, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Why is her window open?" He wondered aloud, letting out a sigh, "She'll catch a cold." He took several steps towards the building before halting abruptly and turning around. _No. This is a bad idea. Someone else will go check on her and close it. _Still, when he looked at the inn her window was open, and he felt as though it was mocking him. _I... I'll just go close the window. She won't even wake up, and I __**won't **__do __**anything **__to wake her up. _The dark assassin's resolve was still shaky as he walked over to the tall, white wall, staring at it contemplatively.

_What if she's not asleep? _A small part of his mind suggested. If Lass could have glared at his own thoughts, he would have. _If she's not asleep I'll just close the window and go anyway. It's not that difficult. _Before he could have more time to doubt himself the white haired boy pushed off the ground and grabbed the white ledge of Arme's window. From that point he hoisted himself into the room, allowing himself a look around the room.

"... What?" The word crossed his lips as he re-inspected the room, and he walked to the center of the room. Arme herself couldn't be found in the room, though he distinctly remembered her walking up the staircase an hour prior. Her hat sat on the dresser, slumped over with it's large eyes shut. _Asleep, huh? _He could have woken the hat to inquire about Arme's location but decided against it, realizing he probably would have received a long-winded answer he really wasn't in the mood for at that point.

_Well, she's not here. This makes it even easier to just close her window and go. But still... _He bit his lip gently. _Why would she even leave her window open if she was just going to leave the room? I know it wasn't open earlier... I'm overthinking this. Maybe it was too hot or something. _Even with this reasoning the assassin seemed uncomfortable, and a certain memory began tugging at the back of his mind. _When we were at the main house she left her window open a lot when she wanted me to come visit. She probably doesn't even want to see me right now though, so... Why does it even matter that the window's open? I'll just find out where Arme is and then head back to my room. After all, I can't actually leave the chase until the Knight Master approves it, Elesis isn't going to let me use a messenger bird and Arme is quite obviously not going to let me use the sidtri. _The door between Arme and Amy's room was open a sliver; Lass pushed it the rest of the way open and stepped inside.

The pink haired dancer was curled up in the middle of the floor, several sheets of paper around her with bar lines on them. Her violin lay next to her, and Lass could guess she had been using it to test the sound of the music she was writing out.

"Amy?" It only took a few nudges of his foot to get the dancer to stir, and it took a minute for her to sit up.

"Huh?" Lass sighed.

"You fell asleep writing. Do you know where Arme is?" Amy paused a moment before shaking her head.

"That's odd... Really odd. I just made myself tea, and I wasn't tired at all... You can't find Arme? Wasn't she in her room?"

"I just looked there. Can you think of anywhere else she would be?" Amy stood up, stretching.

"Before I went to sleep I could hear her in there talking to Bou..." She reached out to pick up her tea cup from it's spot on a saucer on the floor, "My tea's still warm, I can't have been asleep for long." Lass shrugged.

"Well, I'm going to find her." He murmured, watching as Amy looked back at him.

"Mind if I come? I might be able to help." Lass shrugged again.

"Fine with me. She's probably just in the kitchen or something." Amy paused for a moment, looking down at the ground.

"Lass, I remember... Just before I fell asleep, I guess, I remember feeling some kind of heavy pressure. It was really... Sinister. Do you remember anything like that?" Lass frowned, thinking back over the last few minutes.

"I... At one point I was feeling uneasy, but..." Amy looked up worriedly, picking up her violin.

"Let's go. I have a feeling something's really wrong." The assassin picked up the pace as they made their way downstairs, splitting up in the hallway. The kitchen was completely empty, as was the recreation room. _She just went out for a walk. Or she... Where would she __**be? **_He made his way quickly back to the dining room, where Elesis and Ronan were still sitting.

"I still can't believe you can already wield the giant sword so easily-" Ronan cut off his sentence when he saw Lass' panicked look, and both turned to give the thief their full attention.

"Have either of you seen Arme?" He asked as Amy came in, receiving a grin from Elesis.

"You decided to tell her?" She questioned, "I-"

"No, it's not about that!" Amy blinked in confusion.

"About what? What were you going to tell-"

"I wasn't going to tell her anything!" He snapped, "Now will you two both be quiet? Elesis and Ronan, neither of you have seen Arme? We can't seem to find her anywhere, did she go out?" Ronan shook his head.

"You checked all the upstairs rooms?" Lass frowned and shook his head.

"I checked her room and Amy's." Elesis stood up, along with the dragon knight.

"We'll help look through there first." She said seriously, "perhaps she was looking for you? Did you even check your own room?" Lass rolled his eyes and shook his head, leading the way up the staircase. Entering the red hall, they opened each door as they passed it. Ryan looked out of the first door to the left; across the hall from Arme's room.

"Have you seen Arme today?" Amy asked the groggy sentinel. He nodded as he joined them, stretching.

"I saw her at lunch, but I haven't since." He responded, receiving a sigh from those in the party, "but... I heard a thud in her room a couple minutes ago, like something fell over. I would have gone to check on her, but for some reason I was feeling so tired... It was so sudden, too." Amy's eyes widened, and she flung open the door to Jin's room, next to her own. The redheaded fighter was curled up and asleep, though a few shakes from Amy quickly woke him up.

"Jin, where's Arme?" She asked insistantly, as though she expected him to know. The shisa looked at her blankly for a second before shaking his head slowly.

"I've been asleep since I sparred with Ryan after lunch..." He mumbled, drowsily sitting up, "Why do you need to find her?"

"No one knows where she is even though she was supposedly in her room, and I have a really bad feeling about this!" Amy insisted, pulling Jin off the bed and into Ronan's room next door. It was nearly empty aside from his weapons resting against the wall.

"She's clearly not here, let's get going." the knight stated, walking them into the hall.

"Wouldn't it be faster if we split up?" Elesis questioned, Ronan shrugging in response.

"We're almost done anyway, we'll split up and do a search of the town if we can't find her after this." He said, pushing open the door to Elesis' room. Like the previous rooms there was no one inside, and they moved onto the next room.

"How would she even get outside, though?" Elesis murmured, "Ronan and I were sitting at the dining table since she went upstairs, and there was a clear view of the front door. We woulda known if she had left that way..."

"Who knows? If she really wanted to, she could have teleported out. And aside from that, her window was open. Though... I doubt she could have jumped out, her room's on the second floor." The group paused outside Lass' room for a moment, and Elesis pushed the door open slowly. When inside they thoroughly scoured the room until they had confirmation that Arme wasn't there either.

"... Okay, let's think this through. Lass, how did you find out she was missing?" The white haired boy looked towards the wall, avoiding the glances of the group.

"I saw her window open from the backyard, and I went up to close it. When I got there Arme wasn't in the room, only her..." Lass' eyes widened.

"What?" Amy prompted.

"Her hat!" The thief exclaimed, "It was in there with her! It would know where Arme is!" He left the room without waiting for the others, though they followed closely behind him as they retraced their steps to Arme's room. Mahou Boushi was still sleeping on the dresser, and the group circled around it.

"Bou, wake up! It's really important!" Amy called, "We can't find Arme!" The hat's eyes twitched a few times before shooting open, and Lass was certain if hats could go pale the one in front of him would have been pure white.

"Where is she?" Elesis demanded, crossing her arms.

The hat only seemed fearful; it's eyes remained widened and the fabric leading up to the point of it curling down in a gesture that seemed almost defensive. It only let out one word.

"_Kaze'Aze._"

* * *

Arme shivered as she awoke on a cold, stony floor, her head aching. It took a second before her amethyst eyes adjusted to the dark lighting of the room. When she did she looked around slowly, trying hazily to remember what had happened. She was in something that seemed to be a prison cell with several small, thin windows lining the back of the cell and allowing minimal amounts of light in. From these windows there wasn't much visible aside from the dark sky and a small, grey courtyard. On each of the three walls there was a large black symbol that seemed somewhat familiar, though she couldn't place it. This symbol was also featured on the floor, and, if she had been able to see it, she would have noted that it was also on the chains that held her hands behind her back. These chains were attached to the back wall, though they were long enough that she could wander up to the bars that led into a small hallway. She could tell that further on it was lit by torches due to the flickering lights, but other than that there was nothing to tell her where she was.

_Where am I? _She wondered as she tried to summon a fire ball to light the room. It failed, and she bit her lip. _What happened? How did I get here? _It took her several minutes to recall the information she desired.

* * *

_"Leaving your window open? What's that going to do, girl?" The hat questioned. Arme didn't answer, and instead went to her drawer to pull out a pair of pajamas. Instead of changing, however, she set them down on her bed and let out a sigh. _

_"I don't know." She replied, "I..." _

_"It's not going to do anything." The hat supplied, "Certainly not going to help you with what you should be doing, which is-"_

_"I know I should talk to him, all right? I just... What if he doesn't want to talk to me?" The hat sighed._

_"We've already discussed this. If he doesn't want to talk to you, you talk to him anyway. Now stop being a coward." Arme glared at Mahou Boushi. _

_"I'm not being a coward!"_

_"You're just avoiding him because you're afraid. Hence, you're being a coward." Arme felt at this point like lashing out at the hat. She instead buried her head in the pillow, keeping quiet until sniffles began to replace the silence._

_"I know..." She finally responded. "I know, but... He was so upset yesterday. If I say something to make him feel worse..." Her sniffles grew louder and the hat paused, taking a moment to think over it's next sentence. _

_"Perhaps you have the only thing to say that will make him feel better?" It suggested more gently than before. Arme bit her lip, "You're thinking of this in terms of you. Perhaps he's just waiting for you to go see him?" This finally got Arme to sit up, and she glanced at the window._

_"Do you think... Do you think he would mind if I went to see him?" She asked hesitantly._

_"Glad to see you're listening to others for once. Now get going, girl." Arme waited a moment before nodding, glancing over to the window as a sudden wave of sleepiness hit her. When she looked she frowned, standing up._

_"Bou?" The hat scoffed._

_"Don't call me that." Arme's next question came somewhat urgently. _

_"Is it..." She yawned loudly, "Is it just... Just me or... Is there... Purple... Purple mist coming in through the window?" She questioned, rubbing her eyes and began backing up closer to the dresser. _

_"What are you... talking about, girl?" The hat asked before looking to the window, "Of course there isn- Arme, get out of here. Hold your breath and leave __**now**__." It suddenly commanded, sounding as sleepy as it's owner. Arme looked around the room blearily as it hazed with a purple fog, and realized quite suddenly that she couldn't even pinpoint the location of the door._

_"What's going on?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes again and attempting to focus them. At that moment the room had filled with a thin purple mist that leaked out of it through the slightly opened door between Amy's room and Arme's own. It also filtered out through the small space between the door and the carpet, entering the hall way._

_"List- __**Listen**__, you stupid girl... Something's on it's way... Someone with crushing magical power... Someone like-" Who it was like Arme never got to hear. Her mind seemed to preform an abrupt shut down and she collapsed, head slamming into the corner of the dresser as gravity dragged her down. It was as soon as she hit the ground that the smoke gathered into one point, spiralling closer and closer until a solid orb of dark violet was made. This then faded away, leaving in it's wake a tall, violet skinned woman. protruding from both sides of her head were pointed dark violet ears tipped with white, the bases covered by long, straight violet hair. This hair gradiented to a venomous green on it's way down to her thin waist, and a matching violet gown clothed her. Holding a violet staff featuring a green orb at the top, she may have been mistaken for a violet mage had her forest coloured eyes not been filled with an almost concealed malice. _

_"You..." The hat whispered, keeping it's drowsy eyes locked on the woman as she ignored it and leaned down to lift up Arme. _

_"Oh my, I appear to have damaged her." The woman frowned as she inspected Arme's forehead. Wiping a thin hand over the small, bleeding spot, she pulled it back and checked the now woundless area._

_"Much better." _

_"What are you going to __**do **__with her?" The hat whispered again, glaring. This finally caught the tall woman's attention, and she regarded the hat silently; contemplatively._

_"Mahou Boushi. It's been a while." She remarked not answering the question and walking over to pick it up. _

_"It's been seven hundred years since I sat on your head." It hissed back, "I always knew what type of a magician you were, but still... I never thought you would turn out like __**this**__. Arme is innocent, what do you want with her? She'll never join you." The woman chuckled quietly. _

_"My, those are some serious words. She's innocent, all right. But it makes her gullible. And in the end, I don't need her co-operation. I need her __**strength**__. She'll never join me? Strangely enough, I remember words along those lines coming from a young boy several years ago. I believe you know him?" _

_"How dare you..." The woman's head shot to the window, her mouth still twisted in a small smile, as though she had a secret. _

_"In fact, I believe I sense that young boy coming now." Placing the hat back down and getting a firmer grip on the unconscious magician, she looked at the hat quietly again._

_"What are you going to do, Kaze'Aze?" It demanded. _

_"To you? Nothing. A chase is no good if they have no hints about what they're going to chase after, in the end. And games are no fun if there's no one doing the chasing... As much as I would like to see my beloved former host, I believe now isn't the time." She placed her hand gingerly on the fabric of the cap, and soon it's large eyes closed against it's will. With her work done the woman gave yet another secret smile, fading until she was yet again a violet mist and filtering out the window a mere minute before a white haired boy entered the room._

_

* * *

_

"Well, this is great. Just great." Arme groaned, "I fell unconscious and someone kidnapped me. Lass' just gonna be **thrilled **to hear about this one." She walked back over to the wall and sat down, leaning up against it. Pressing her head against the cool stone, she sighed.

"I'm so stupid. **Why **exactly didn't I listen to the thousand year old hat when it told me to run?" She questioned herself, looking up at the ceiling.

"That's a **very **good question." A voice agreed. Arme turned quickly to the bars, staring in confusion at the violet skinned woman who stared at her from the other side of the cage as though she had won a prize. _And that prize, _her mind stated dryly, _is me. _

"You're the one who kidnapped me." The violet magician stated. A nod was given.

"Quite the quick learner, aren't you?" There was a silence, "But you don't know who I am, do you?" Arme glared, biting her lip.

"I... I have a pretty good guess." She replied, trying to not look away. The woman's eyes sparkled with amusement, and she leaned against the bars.

"Oh, do you? May I hear it?" She questioned, sounding to Arme like an adult mockingly talking to a child. The violet magician took a deep breath, looking over the woman once more before responding.

"Kaze'Aze." The woman tilted her head.

"Hm? I didn't hear you."

"You're Kaze'Aze!" Arme stated again, this time standing up to get closer, "And I don't know what you want me for, but I'm not doing **anything **for you!" The queen blinked, then began laughing.

"You're rather certain of yourself, aren't you?" She purred, "But what if I told you I'm not Kaze'Aze? What if I told you you're wrong?" Arme took another step towards the bars, shaking ever so slightly.

"I'd call you a liar." She said firmly. The dark woman began laughing again.

"Oh my, you certainly are different. Perhaps you're right. Perhaps I am Kaze'Aze. But have you ever considered that I'm not evil? **Perhaps**..." She slid an arm through the bars, and with a single motion Arme's body seemed to be force to close the distance, "I didn't kidnap you? Maybe... Just maybe... I **saved **you." A long green fingernail stroked Arme's cheek and she shuddered, though her body refused the want to pull away. Something in the tone of the dark magician's voice set off a warning in her mind, and she came quickly to the realization that magic had been laced into the statements. _Saved me...? From what? _

"You didn't save me. You didn't save me from **anything**." She voiced her thoughts out loud, more for the privledge of herself than the listening witch, "How did you even **find **me?"

"I believe you remember a certain witch by the name of Elena? Well, her dying action happened to be communicating to me your whereabouts. A loss, though an overlookable one. But why do you hunt me? Why do you follow along with those who would use you, meaninglessly allowing you to put your life at risk at every opportunity?" Arme's eyes widened, and a flare of anger shot up. With the strength of this anger she stepped away, retreating to the back of the room yet again.

"My life wouldn't be in danger if it weren't for **you**!" Arme cried, "So just **go away**! You think this'll work? You think you can just kidnap me? Soon the others will be here! Soon Lass will... Lass will..." Her voice faded, eyes widening with an emotion near terror. _Lass, Lass, Lass. Is that all I can do when I'm in danger? Sit back and wait for Lass to come and protect me all the time? I can't just fall back on him all the time! _She looked up tearily into the entertained face of the dark queen.

"Ah, so we've made it to the topic of Lass, have we? How has my former host been?" She questioned. There was a thin mask of sincerity placed over this question, though most children would have been able to hear the deceptive tone.

"Former... Former host? Keep your lies to yourself!" Arme growled, "And leave him out of this." The smile on Kaze'Aze's face widened.

"Oh, this is just **perfect**. He didn't tell you?" The amethyst eyed alchemist turned away, though her eyes were pulled back moments later, "It seems as though I hit a nerve." Arme closed her eyes.

"I don't believe you. Even if that **is **true, it's Lass' past to tell me. He will when he wants to." The tall woman gasped in mock-hurt.

"Oh dear, you don't believe me? We can't have that now, can we?" This time she pulled Arme close with a gesture of her hand stronger than the previous one; the magician was unable to pull away, "I have just the thing to quell your doubt." Arme tried furiously to pull back as a purple hand reached for her; she failed. As soon as it rested on her forehead Arme's mind went black.

* * *

_Arme's eyes opened to reveal a prison similar to her own, though it's inhabitants were roughly seven small boys of about ten years old instead of herself. One had white hair, and she almost immediately recognized him as Lass. None of the children seemed able to see her, and she ran over to the smaller version of the thief. His eyes shone with a determination and fire that seemed unusual compared to his usual cool anger, and Arme almost felt a smile tug at her lips. _

_"Good evening, children." This smile fell quickly, and she turned to face the direction all the children were looking. The magician wasn't surprised to see Kaze'Aze at the other side of the bars, looking in focusedly at Lass, who glared right back with the blissful innocence of a child who had no idea of his true situation._

_"Let us out!" He demanded, standing up. The dark magician smiled. _

_"Such energy... Yes, that was why I let you live, after all. Won't you be a host willingly?" The child-Lass shook his head furiously._

_"I won't do anything for you! Let us all out!" He insisted again, shirking back when her hand reached through the bars. Arme could see him going through the same thing she had when Kaze'Aze's finger curled in a summoning gesture, and his resistance only got him so far before his feet began dragging against the ground and bringing him to stand in front of the magician. _

_"Let's see if you __**really **__won't do anything for me, shall we?" She questioned rhetorically, pressing a hand to his forehead. A reaction was instantaneous,and Arme gasped as the boy let out a scream, grasping the sides of his head. The other children looked on fearfully as he fell to the ground, his head pressing against the bars. Arme reached forth, wincing as her hand made no contact with the miniature thief's skin. _

_"__**STOP IT!**__" He screamed out, hands gripping his head so tightly she could see a trickle of blood coming from the spot his nails dug in. Arme's heart felt as though it was bleeding, yet as desperately as her mind was trying to tell her to look away, she couldn't bring her eyes from the scene. His struggle continued for a full minute, in the end leaving him panting exhaustedly._

_"I won't..." He murmured, glaring back up at her. The witch only looked down in contemplation, a hand stroking her cheek thoughtfully._

_"You, a mere ten-year old child, resisting mind posession? Quite admirable. You want freedom for yourself and your little friends? Let's play a game, then." Lass' eyes widened in shock, but he quickly regained his composure._

_"What kind of game?" He asked testily, looking around at the other children, "And if I win, you'll let __**all **__of us go?" The woman's smile stretched into a grin._

_"Why of course!" She said, "Now, what type of game? How about we play a little game of endurance? You're quite a rebellious child, but I can't help but wonder..." She kneeled down, bringing herself closer to eye-level with the silver haired boy, "How well you can resist mind possession when you're asleep?" Lass blinked, confusion written on his face._

_"What do you want? Just tell me the game!" _

_"Such a temper! Perhaps our game shall resolve it?" She waved her staff lightly, and a pile of various swords and blades clattered to the ground._

_"What do you expect me to do with those?" Lass asked, eyebrows furrowed. The dark queen looked around the room slowly. _

_"Eight children? This shall work out nicely. Do you know what these walls are made of, my dear child?" She asked. Lass looked at her incredulously, then around the cell. _

_"Stone?" He replied somewhat inquisitively. Kaze'Aze nodded._

_"Quite right! Possibly some of the thickest stone in the world! Now, see that back wall there? Do you know where it leads to?" Lass looked back again, at the blank wall._

_"... Outside?" The magician nodded again._

_"Correct again! The eight of you, your challenge is to dig through that wall. Once you break it, you're out. No strings attached." The small boy squinted at her through sapphire eyes, seeming thoroughly confused. _

_"So you're saying..." He paused and took a breath, "That if we break through that wall we're free? No catches?" The magician nodded. _

_"None whatsoever. I'm even giving you some tools to do it with!" At this she waved her wand and the weapons slid through the bars of the cell, "Of course, there is one __**small **__catch while you're breaking down the wall. Everytime this child," She gestured at Lass, "Falls asleep, you'll lose a little pair of working hands." Lass glared, his head cocked to the side._

_"What... Do you mean?" The woman's grin stretched even further, reaching an almost maniacal point._

_"I mean, my dear child, that every time you fall asleep, one of your friends will die." Lass' eyes widened, but before he could say anything the woman turned and began walking away._

_"If everyone is dead before the wall is broken down, I win. And my prize, quite simply, is __**you**__." When the dark queen was gone for several minutes Lass sighed and stood up, rubbing his head as he looked around at the other children._

_"Come on, then. Let's get going, I don't think __**any **__of us want to lose this game." They nodded in response, some even smiling._

_"This'll be fun! We're like a team, battling the big bad witch!" A brown haired boy exlaimed, picking up a pickaxe. Lass chuckled and nodded, picking up a pair of daggers. Another boy looked at him with concern._

_"Shouldn't you sit down or lie down or something? If you work you're gonna get sleepy faster, right?" He asked. Lass shrugged._

_"If I lie down I'll get tired. Working'll keep me awake." A black haired boy nodded. _

_"Let's get this done fast! I wanna go home!" Another child began crying at this, and Lass went to sit next to him._

_"Are you all right? Come on, let's get working." The boy sniffled, standing up and lifting up a sword from the pile._

_"But... I don't have a home any more!" He exclaimed. Lass sighed, patting his head. _

_"Neither do I, but we need to get out of here. When we do I'm gonna go to the first store I see and buy a huge cherry pie, and you can all have some!" Arme laughed gently, even though she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. Within the next five minutes Lass had all the children rallied and excited to get out, the weapons evenly distributed. They all felt like it was an actual game at that point, and their weapons were swung enthusiastically at the stone wall. _

_Arme had over the next two days realized what she could and couldn't make contact with, the bunk in the corner being one of the few things she could. She was sitting on it at that point, watching Lass silently._

_"L... Lass?" One of the children questioned, watching the silver haired boy as he sat down on the provided cot quite near Arme herself, rubbing his red and irritated eyes. He smiled back gently, stretching._

_"No worries, I'm fine. We've made pretty good... Pretty good progress today, we'll be out in no time." Arme had no idea how he could keep this attitude in the circumstances. Most of the children had lost their energy a few hours after beginning, and all aside from him had been taking shifts sleeping since then. Food had arrived, and most of it had gone to the small thief despite protests._

_"You... You look sleepy." A boy remarked worriedly, getting Lass' attention._

_"Oh, do I? Nah..." He let out a short yawn, "I could just use some water is all." Another boy, the youngest of the group, ran up with a glass. Gratefully accepting it, the white haired boy drank the liquid hastily._

_"Thanks... Now, back to work." Arme bit her lip, looking at him sadly. 'Lass can't take much more of this...'_

_"Lass? I think that's a bad idea..." The boy with the pickaxe voiced Arme's thoughts, "You don't look so good." Sapphire eyes glared lazily. _

_"If I lie down right now, I really will fall asleep!" He exclaimed, standing up and twirling his blades around. Another child stood between him and the fair-sized chip in the wall, shaking his head. _

_"N... Nuh-uh, Lass... You can hardly stand up... You're gonna collapse if you try to do this." He said cautiously, trying to push Lass back to the bunk. The silver haired boy frowned, pushing past him. _

_"I said I'm not going to just lie down and watch you guys work. Now would you both stop worrying?" He muttered, starting to chip at the stone along with the others in the group. After a minute he paused, resting against the stone. All the children had turned to look at him by then, watching as he shook his head and continued working._

_"I think this is a bad idea... I think this is a really, really bad idea." The child from before repeated. The sapphire eyed boy turned around._

_"Someone talk to me, then. I can't fall asleep if I'm talking, can I?" The boy with the glass of water quickly scurried over and began babbling in the thief's ears, speaking so quickly Arme couldn't understand what he was saying. Judging by the expression on Lass' face, she was pretty sure he couldn't either. With a sigh she leaned against the wall, watching the boys. 'Why am I here? I know this won't end well, and I can't do __**anything **__about it. I don't even know if this is __**real**__. What if she's just making this all up so I... I'm sure she has some reason. Like-' Before Arme could finish her thought she was cut off by an urgent volume increase from the babbling child. _

_"__**Lass? Lass!**__" He was fearfully whimpering, staring at the figure of the white haired boy's body. It appeared to have finally given out, and he was slumped against the wall. He had fallen down to the ground, where he wasn't moving. _

_"! Someone get him up, fast!" A child exclaimed, terror written on his face. Still, none of the children dared step closer to his body aside from the small child who had been next to him, and they all backed up against the wall while the sapphire eyed boy was shook futily. _

_"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" To their surprise, it only took a minute for the boy to stir again._

_"Lass, we thought you..." This sentence was cut off with one look in Lass' eyes. Or rather, a lack of. The whites of his eyes had completely taken over, and a blank look covered his face. The other children pressed themselves closer to the walls, most holding their weapons out in front of themselves and shaking. Arme found herself shivering along with them, aware that she had no power in the situation. The only exception to this was the child who clung to the front of Lass' shirt, even as he stood up._

_"Lass, you wouldn't do this! You wouldn't!" The thief glanced at him for only a moment before pushing him to the ground, looking around the room. Walking around in a large circle, he continued stepping closer to the edges of the room, swinging his blades back and forth. He repeated this pattern for about a minute before swinging his arm out, and one of his blades flew across the room. The room filled with a scream, and Arme's eyes widened with terror as she located a child with a blade protruding from his shoulder. The matching one was still held in Lass' hand as he approached, no expression displayed on his face. _

_"No... Don't..." Arme whispered, unable to turn away. She watched as the bleeding child attempted to stagger away, failing when Lass increased his pace and lunged at his body. More screams filled the air, and Arme watched the scene in a horrified silence. Minutes passed before the body finally stopped twitching, silence filling the air with a heavy fear. Lass' body fell to the ground next to the bloodied child's; no one made a move toward it. _

_The room slowly started to fill with sobs, and all the children moved to huddle near one another. Arme felt sick; she pressed a hand to her stomach and tried to stop herself from puking at the sight of the body. This continued for two hours before the white haired boy shuddered, a hand moving to push himself up off the ground._

_"I... What happened?" He muttered, leaning back to sit on his heels, "I remember... Being tired. I..." He went utterly silent as he looked up, eyes briefing over the room and finally landing on the child, a blade still protruding out of his chest and arms and legs covered in numerous deep scars. _

_"I..." He turned slowly to face the other children, who were looking at him in fear. Taking a deep breath, he looked around again as though he was lost, "This isn't what was supposed to happen. This wasn't supposed to happen at all." Lass' voice had gone nearly silent, and Arme could hear his desperate attempt to cover up his tears. This was the point that the small boy from before stepped forward and kneeled down in front of the silver haired boy, reaching out a hand._

_"It w-wasn't your fault." He whispered shakily, "It wasn't you!" Lass looked back up hopelessly, and the youngest of the group wrapped his arms around the bloodstained boy. For a moment Lass sat silently, eyes widened with shock. He then leaned back and hesitantly wrapped his arms around the other child, eyes watering. _

_"We'll still get out of here. We can still do it." He said, "This can't happen again." _

_But time took it's toll on Lass, as it would on any ten year old. Fear of the white haired boy had began to fill the group; fear for the next time he would be unable to keep his sapphire eyes open. It happened again one day later; again sixteen hours after that. Finally, after five days more had passed, only two children remained._

_"Not again..." Lass whispered, staring down at the body of the boy who had taken a pickaxe. _

_"We're so close..." His eyes, making their way to the wall, landed on the youngest child of the group; the only one left other than himself. The only child who hadn't run from him every time he had fallen. The child who was at that point looking at him with a blank smile._

_"We're just about out." Lass said quietly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The smaller boy shook his head sadly, looking at Lass with pity in his eyes._

_"We're not." Was the response. Lass blinked._

_"What do you-" _

_"We're not almost out, Lass." He repeated, "We're only two people. Two __**kids**__. The smell is driving me mad... And the fear. I'm afraid, Lass." The boy's smile didn't falter, even as tears began falling down his cheeks._

_"But I won't fall asleep again!" The silver haired boy insisted desperately, "I promise!" The boy shook his head again, dirty brown hair swaying from side to side with him. _

_"Don't promise that, Lass. You can't. I don't... I don't hold it against you... If it was anyone else we would all have died days ago." Arme, listening, could hardly believe how calm the boy was. He had been in near hysterics two days previous, and Arme could only assume he was speaking the truth; the circumstance had driven him to the point where he didn't care. _

_"I'm sorry... I really am. But no matter how I look at it, I'm the next. I'm the only one left. I don't want to die, Lass. I'm afraid. But..." Holding one of the knives from one of the other boys, he pulled it close to him, "I'm more afraid of the pain. We lost the game, but I... I'll win, just a little." He pulled the knife closer, and Lass' eyes widened even more. _

_"Wh.. What are you doing? Stop it!" He demanded, "Stop!" There was one, final shake of the boy's head. _

_"I'm sorry, Lass. I know you tried your best. Thanks... Thanks for being my friend." The young thief, drained of all energy, could only stare as his final comrade fell. He sat silently for a minute, eyes to the ground. Then, in a bout of anger he stood up, lashing out at the wall. Arme watched silently, jolting slightly when she felt a cold enter the hall. Lass fell against the wall, looking back lifelessly as a familiar figure slide into the room. _

_"Looks like I won the game, now doesn't it, my dear child?" She purred, looking over the room._

_"Though a bit prematurely..." This remark was made when her eyes fell upon the newest body, "But ah well." The bars melted away as her hand rested on them, and she stepped into the cell. Lass didn't resist, even when she got closer to him. _

_"You weren't planning on letting us out at all." He whispered drowsily, allowing her to press her hand against his forehead. The woman seemed delighted by this comment, and her smile stretched. _

_"Why would you ever even __**think **__that, my dear child?" She asked, receiving no response. Arme focused on something to draw her mind away from the hatred that was building for the witch, realizing she couldn't do anything at that point. Finally something caught her attention, and she squinted as she attempted to focus on the area the boys had been working to break through. _

_Barely, just barely, a small hole had crumbled through to the other side. Through that hole the slightest view of another cell could be spotted._

_

* * *

_

Arme jolted awake, and found she was back in her own cell. Her cheeks were soaked with salty tears, and she wiped them away futily as she looked around. The witch was looking at her with a smile, as though she had been waiting there the entire time (which had probably actually been a considerably shorter time than the memory).

"You... You're a monster." She whispered, "You're the reason he's afraid." The dark queen laughed.

"Ah, yes. He still won't sleep near others, will he? He may say he's 'lost' his memory, but only what his mind can close out. I believe I did a pretty thorough job destroying his will, did I not? I was quite proud of him." Arme gritted her teeth.

"You're **proud **of what you did to him?" She seethed, stepping up to the front bars, "When I get out of here you had better damn well run. Because I will destroy you for what you did." Kaze'Aze chuckled.

"Temper, temper. How am I supposed to converse with you when you can't be civil?"

"I have no reason to be **civil **in front of you, you **monster**!" The woman appeared amused.

"Resorting to name calling, are we?" A hand reached through the bars, and a strand of Arme's violet hair was firmly grasped, "_Mind your tongue._" Arme opened her mouth to rebuke but felt herself unable to, a magic of some sort keeping her silent. She glared furiously as the witch paused, her green eyes hazing over for a moment before they cleared again.

"Ah, I have the perfect thing for this! They shan't get my precious mage, of course, but perhaps that's what you need right now. A... Time out of sorts." Couldn't do anything as a hand was waved in front of her face, and her eyes felt immediately heavy. _A time out? What does she mean?_ It wasn't long before she found out. In between blinks the room twisted and changed until white became the dominant colour, an ever so familiar beeping entering her ears along with much urgent chatter and yelling. _The hospital. _Arme nearly choked. _The... The __**hospital?**__ She's had something to do with this this whole time!_She wasn't given much time to think it over; a boy in nurse's wear came running up to her bedside from the noisy hallway outside, and it took a minute for Arme to recognize him as the nurse she had talked to the last time she was awake. He seemed to be in a panic, and he was clenching several sheets of paper in his hand.

"A-Arme!" He gasped, "We found it!" Arme tilted her head, still trying to wrap her head around the whole situation.

"Found **what**?" She asked, "What's going on?" The boy took several deep breaths, grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm... Sorry, I've been running around all afternoon. You remember asking me about the other patients? Well I finally did it! I got in contact with that other girl's parents! The man on the other side... He asked..." the boy paused again, though Arme wasn't certain whether it was supposed to be for dramatic effect or if he was just catching his breath, "He asked why I was talking to him, and why I wasn't calling another girl's parents. I hadn't heard her name before, but I did some research and we **found **it."

"What did you find!" Arme asked exhasperatedly, sitting up.

"We found a **survivor**, Arme! Someone who lived! Somehow... I don't know how, and the doctors are absolutely **furious **that a treatment existed and was covered up. Apparently this girl's family had influence or major **something **or I don't know what, but that's not the important part! We got in contact with her doctors and they agreed to come over here and preform the treatment! Of course they legally couldn't refuse to give you a life-saving operation but- But... Arme? Are you all right?" Arme's face had gone pale, and she stared at him blankly. _A treatment existed. All this time, one __**existed**__? But... What will happen to me if I take it?_

"This is great." She said weakly, "Who was the patient?" The raven haired boy took another couple of breaths.

"Sorry to throw this all on you the minute... The minute you wake up. I got permission from all the parents of the other victims, here are the files. The survivor is the last file." Arme took the pile hesitantly, closing her eyes and opening the first portfolio. When she opened her amethyst eyes she nearly gasped, and she tilted the picture of the first victim to the left and right. No matter what she did it still looked the exact same, and the text at the bottom of the picture still read 'Elesis Sieghart'.

* * *

A/N: Now let's be honest, who saw that one coming? xD This is also a chapter I was pretty happy to write~ It doesn't seem laid out quite right, but I'm putting off a history essay to finish this so I'll not drag it out any longer~

Hope you enjoyed!

-Utsuro


	26. A Vital Visit

A/N: Doesn't seem like anyone saw the Elesis plot twist coming~ That's good!

Disclaimer: 25 chapters and I still don't own GC ;-;

Chapter 25: A Vital Visit

* * *

"Wha... Are you... Are you sure these are the right files?" Arme stuttered, looking down at Elesis. The nurse nodded.

"Yes, why? Do you know her? But... She died five years ago..." Arme did her best to shrug indifferently as she looked over the file.

"She... She just looked like someone I know, is all." She whispered, eyes hovering over the 'important notes' section. _Treat with care, patient subject to outbreaks of anger. _The magician bit her lip. _That does sound sort of like Elesis, but... Does it mean... She knew what was going on this whole time? Or is it just... _There was no way it was a coincidence.

"You know there are other files, right?" The nurse said after several minutes. Arme nodded, but she didn't immediately flip to the next one. _If Elesis was a patient, then this means... _Taking a deep breath, she moved over Elesis' file and opened the next. The violet haired girl almost wasn't surprised when she saw a picture of Amy on the next page, the dancer appearing to be about seven years old.

"Amy Winters... She was the youngest victim, got hospitalized when she was six years old but somehow lived until she was thirteen. From what I've heard, her parents died a few years earlier, and there was no money to go into getting her treatment. Her grandparents are alive, but they wouldn't pay." Arme nodded sadly. _So she was also... _Letting out a sigh, she didn't bother looking over the rest of the file. _Why didn't anyone tell me? Or maybe this is another of Kaze'Aze's games... _But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't get herself to believe the latter thought. _That would be like telling myself my whole life was a part of her plan... Though right now I wouldn't doubt it. _She finally flipped to the third and last file, at which point she gasped loudly. On the paper was a blonde girl with sparkling green eyes and a wide smile, and the word underneath the picture surprised Arme much more than it should have.

"L... Lire..." She whispered, receiving another strange glance from the nurse as she stared wide-eyed at the beautiful girl displayed by the file.

"Yeah, she was the survivor." He explained, looking at the clock, "But your surgery is planned to commence tomorrow, you should rest up... There'll be a month or so after where you can't move or anything, so if there's anything you need to do you might wanna get it done. If there's anything in particular that you want to eat, I can get it for you... Any book you'd like from the library or anything? Though after all these years you've probably read most of them during your visits... I could get a movi-"

"I want to meet her." She stuttered. The nurse tilted his head.

"Who? You... What?" Arme took another deep breath.

"L... Lire. I want to meet her." The nurse appeared at a loss for words.

"You... Want to meet **Lire**? You really shouldn't be out of the hospital right now..." He replied. Arme shook her head.

"I want to meet her **now**!" She insisted, attempting to get up. The black haired boy stood in her way, looking at her with the concern.

"Lie back down, you'll pull something out like that!" He insisted, a frown spreading onto his face, "Why do you even want to meet her?" Arme refused to lie back down, but she stayed seated.

"I... I need to meet her." She insisted again, looking towards the ground, "I need to. I don't think I have much more time before I go unconcious again, and I **need **to meet her again." The magician exclaimed almost frantically. The nurse seemed even more worried, and he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Stay calm, all right? I'll ask the doctor, but **do not **get up while I'm gone." Arme nodded numbly, clutching Lire's file tightly. _What does she know? Maybe she can explain something... And I... I need to figure out what happened to her. For Ryan's sake. _She looked over the page again, shaking. _I can figure this out. I can find out why Ryan's like he is. I can find out why she left... I can figure out what really happened. _She looked up at the door impatiently. _Hurry up! I don't have much time! _Frustrated, she began pulling the miniature suction cups off her skin and leaving them next to the heart monitor. With this done she swung her legs over the side of the bed where the IV and NG machine stood. Unhooking both machines was simple enough, and Arme paused before she wondered if she could leave them behind. She didn't dare try and unplug the IV machine, and she stared at the NG for a long time before deciding something would probably go terribly wrong if she tried to unplug it. Holding the rail around the IV post, she used it as a support when she pushed herself to her feet. The violet haired girl nearly fell when she attempted this, forgetting for a moment that she hadn't really walked in months. Her legs were weak and thin; it took a moment for her to regain balance. She shakily pulled the machines with her as she made her way to the door, realizing she would most likely get in trouble for her actions. She still persisted, pressing up against the door with her back to open it.

"If we can, we should be moving her operation to this afternoon! Do you know what galavanting around the city could **do **to her condition?" A voice exclaimed as Arme entered the hallway. She turned to see the nurse talking to a doctor, who was glaring at him angrily.

"I-I know, but she's going into surgery tomorrow anyway, right? Her condition can't possibly deteriorate **that **much in one day! Even if she does fall unconcious we can still operate! She's really distressed right now, I'm not so sure she'll even let us go through with the surgery if we don't let her do this. You should have **seen **her face when she looked at the file with the survivor on it." Arme got closer carefully, trying to focus on their conversations over that of the other doctors in the hall.

"I don't **care**! It would be plain irresponsible to let her out! Tell her no, do whatever, but we **can't**-"

"Please... I **need **to meet her!" Both of the medical personnel turned around to look at her, shocked.

"Arme, I told you not to get up!" The nurse groaned, placing a hand on his forehead. Arme looked at him apologetically.

"I know, but I have to... I absolutely **have to **meet her!" She whispered. The doctor glared between the nurse and Arme, letting out a sigh.

"Please go back to your room, Arme." He stated firmly. The magician shook her head, eyes tearing up.

"No! I need to meet Lire!" She took a deep breath, trying to blink back tears when she thought of Ryan, and how miserable he would be if he found out she had had the chance to meet Lire, "Please. I won't overexert myself, but I need to do this." The doctor shook his head again.

"It's simply not possible, Arme. The hospital would be held responsible if anything happened to-"

"**Arme**?" The three people turned around to see Arme's mother running at them, gaping at her daughter disbelievingly, "You're awake! They said you wouldn't wake up before the surgery, and- Oh, you've heard, right! You can be healed! Your father is returning this evening, his plane's going to land soon!" Arme nodded lightly as her mother hugged her.

"And what's all this? Why are you not lying down!" Arme winced, looking up at the woman.

"I want to meet the survivor." She responded. Her mother looked at her and back to the doctor after a pause.

"The surgery's tomorrow, right? Is there a problem?" The doctor nodded.

"If she goes out her condition could get worse. We'd prefer not to take chances." The tall woman frowned further, looking at her daughter.

"Well, she wants to go! If I take her there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Miss, I'm afraid you don't understand! Her condition could deter-"

"My daughter's going to be on bedrest for months after the surgery, so if this is what she wants to do, let her do it!" Arme let out a sigh of relief. When her mother was determined about something it happened, no matter what forces were in the way. Arme had seen this determination at work several times; when she had been let out of the hospital right after she had woken up for her birthday, and when she would let Arme's friends come to see her even though no one was supposed to visit.

"Please, Miss! She really shouldn't-"

"As a parent I have the right to remove her from the hospital at any given time if it's not life threatening, correct?" Arme's mother asked, crossing her arms and tapping her heeled foot on the ground.

"This could be a life threatening situati-"

"It isn't! I've taken her out of the hospital several times before! I'll sign wavers, I'll sign whatever, but we're going!" The doctor sighed.

"But... Fine." He looked at the clock hanging near the reception area, "Bring her back into her room and Henk will detach her from the machines," He stated, gesturing to the nurse, "Have her back by ten at the latest." Arme's mother nodded, leading the violet magician back to her room with a victorious grin. The nurse followed warily, looking at the pair with a sigh. Arme glanced at the clock when she was seated on her bed and grimaced at the time; the clock reading 6:47 alerted her to how little time they had left.

"I'm going to make a quick call to Lire's nurse to make sure she can take visitors, and I'll get directions." The black haired nurse said once he had removed both wires from Arme, capping them. This left it so both the IV and NG were still running into her wrist and stomach respectively, taped down to her cheek and the back of her hand. Both violet haired women nodded, Arme stretching and turning to her generally over-protective mother.

"Why?" She asked quietly once the nurse was out of the room, receiving a questioning glance from her mother.

"Why what? And would you like another outfit? You don't want to meet someone in an outfit like that, right?"

"Another outfit would be nice..." She agreed, "But... Why did you take my side on that? You normally don't let me do things that you'd consider dangerous, I'd assume that to be enforced even more so when I'm so close to being cured." Her mother bit her lip, searching through a bag that Arme assumed had clothes inside.

"I don't get to do much right by you." The elder woman said as she handed over a light purple dress top with dark purple pants to go underneath. Taking a deep breath, she continued.

"Now, when you only have one day left before you have to be on bedrest for more than a month, isn't it a good time to do something? And you seem awfully determined to meet this girl." Arme smiled and nodded, taking a few shaky steps towards the bathroom in her room. By the time she had changed and come back out the nurse was in the room again, handing over a piece of paper to Arme's mother.

"And these are the directions, but you can't stay too long, all right?" he was saying. The blue eyed woman nodded, picking up her purse from the chair and looking over at Arme.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked.

"Yeah!" The short magician placed her folded hospital outfit on the bed, looking around the room one last time. _I hope I have enough time to do this. I don't think I'm going to be here very long... _Her mother pushed open the door for her, and Arme exited as quickly as she could. It was once she was in the hall that she remembered she had been moved hospitals several months earlier, and the new layout had her at a loss for where to go. She paused to allow the slightly taller violet woman to take the lead.

"Why do you want to meet this girl so badly?" She asked curiously as they approached the elevators. Arme was silent for a second.

"I just want to see how she's doing." She finally replied watching the down button as it was lit up. Her mother looked down at the ground, looking back up only when the elevator doors opened to reveal an empty cubicle.

"Well, you see, Arme... I wouldn't expect too much, because Lire is sick. They're **not **saying it's an after effect of the surgery!" She added hastily, "But one year after she got out of the hospital she was pronounced with stage two lung cancer. I can't imagine how they didn't catch that when she was in there for a year, but somehow it got to that point, and... Well, to be honest, they don't expect her to live for much longer, and she made a request to be sent home." Her mother answered. Arme's eyes widened, and she took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself. _Surviving that just to die of cancer, right after she got out? I doubt it's a coincidence. _

"You'll be fine, though! They made sure to do a full health check a few days ago before they started the exam, and you came out perfectly fine!" She kept rambling on in that manner until they made it down into the parking lot, where they entered the small quite predictably violet vehicle owned by Arme's mother.

"Are you worried about tomorrow?" The woman asked after a moment. Arme shook her head.

"Not really. I'll be unconscious anyway, right?" Her mother nodded.

"They'll make sure you're properly medicated so there's no chance of you waking up. Oh! Your father's plane will land at around nine, and the nurse said we have to leave at nine as well. I can call and ask him to grab dinner at the airport, and by the time we get there he should be about finished."

"I can go see dad?" Arme asked, genuine surprise in her voice.

"Yup! He was hoping you'd be awake before your surgery to see him, so he'll be extremely happy to hear that you are. He misses you a lot, Arme." The girl nodded again, looking out the window at the buildings as they exited the parking area. _Everything's so different from Bermesiah... _She thought, with a pang of what she wasn't certain to be sadness. Thinking it over, she decided she was more confused than anything else. _What's going to happen to me?_

_

* * *

_

"Arme? Wake up, we're here!" Arme jolted awake at her mother's voice, realizing with a start that she had drifted off. They were parked in front of a quaint little house, and the clock of the vehicle read _7:30_.

"This is... Lire's house?" the magician asked hesitantly, pushing open her car door and staring at the white picket fence surrounding the house and giving it a look similar to one from any little girl's dream house.

"44 Oceanview Boulevard... Yeah, this is the right place." The woman said, looking over the map once more. Arme opened the fence gingerly, her mother following behind her. She stood at the door for a minute before rapping on it. Footsteps could be heard approaching rapidly, and soon the door was opened by a rather miserable-appearing ginger-haired woman.

"You're the ones who called to meet Lire?" She questioned with a frown.

"Yes, miss." Arme replied, trying to look around her and into the house. The nurse sighed.

"Then... You're the latest patient?" She asked, in a slightly softer tone. Arme nodded.

"Lire is in her room, come in. She made a big fuss about you being able to come over... Otherwise you probably wouldn't have been allowed." The magician's heartbeat raced as she entered the main room, taking off her shoes. The house was perfectly clean- there wasn't so much as a speck of dust in sight. _She must not move around much. _Arme decided as they entered the living room, observing the light green furniture.

"Her lungs are very weak so please don't make her take too- Lire, what are you doing up! I told you I would bring them to your room!" Arme's head whipped around the room at this exclamation, searching until she found who the nurse had been addressing. Standing in a doorway leading to what appeared to be a bedroom was a blonde girl, seeming to be about the age of fifteen. Using the frame to support herself, she was staring at Arme with an expression mirroring the magician's. Her wrist supported an I.V. similar to Arme's, capped off.

"Thank you for bringing them in, Farelle." The girl whispered, her voice gentle and almost inaudible from a distance, "I'm..." She paused, as though she wasn't certain what to say next, "Grateful you could come." She sounded shaky and uncertain, the consequence of an underused voice. The picture from the Grand Chase's collection room came back to Arme; she could match it up exactly with the girl standing infront of her.

"You're Lire?" She blurted out the obvious question. The forest-eyed girl nodded weakly, "And yourself?" Arme swallowed heavily, still staring with an intensity that could easily have been considered rude.

"This is Arme, and I'm her mother." The taller violet haired woman supplied, looking at her daughter with an expression of confusion. Lire nodded again.

"All righty, girlie, we have to get you back to bed." Farelle said from the side of the room, walking over to support Lire. When the blonde haired girl nodded she was walked into the bedroom behind her, Arme and her mother following. The amethyst eyed girl immediately took a seat next to the bed, and Lire coughed lightly. This triggered a small series of coughs, which subsided over the course of a minute but had everyone in the room watching her seriously.

"Farelle?" She questioned, taking a sip from the glass of water next to her bed and near the I.V. machine that seemed to make the room feel more hospital-like than it should have been. The bedroom also featured a green colour scheme, albeit it was warmer than the one in the living room.

"Yes?" The nurse replied, re-attaching the rest of the tube to Lire's I.V. as Arme watched wordlessly.

"I need to speak to Arme alone." She whispered, "Please." Her nurse frowned.

"And what happens if you fall into another coughing fit like yesterday?" The blonde sighed.

"You'll hear me from the other room and come running, like you always do." The ginger haired woman reluctantly nodded, looking at Arme's mother.

"Are you all right with it?" She asked, her tone of voice leaving some indication that she was hoping the violet haired woman would have a problem with it.

"It seems to be fine... Let's let the kids talk." She murmured. The nurse paused, looking back at Lire once.

"If you need **anything **you call me, all right?" She insisted, getting another nod. The door swung shut behind the two women slowly, and once it did the two females left in the room simply stared for a moment.

"You've been... There, haven't you?" Lire finally started, watching Arme intently. Arme stood up, taking a deep breath.

"Yes! Why did you leave? Why did you leave them like that? Do you know what's going on there? Do you know what you did to **Ryan**?" Lire seemed taken aback, green eyes widening in shock.

"Ryan..." She repeated, "How is he?" Her words came out almost desperately, "Please... Tell me." Arme averted her eyes, sitting back down.

"He hasn't been good... Why does he blame himself? Why did you leave him like that?" Arme's questions repeated, and the blonde seemed shocked.

"He... Thinks I left because of him?" Arme nodded.

"And Elesis and Amy! How do they play into all of this? Tell me you have answers..." Lire bit her lip.

"I can't believe he thinks... I should start at the beginning." She coughed lightly again, looking up at Arme as though she was asking permission to begin.

"I don't have much time." Arme whispered, "but I need to know." The green eyed girl nodded.

"Well... You should probably know that Elesis and I were childhood friends." Arme blinked.

"Huh? But... What about the illness?" Lire looked down at the blanket.

"I don't know if your illness showed up in the same way ours did. When we were both ten we were hit with it, and it started out badly. Elesis... She was affected with it a couple months before me. She hated being in the hospital... You must know by now how restless she gets. I visited her every day, until I was diagnosed... My parents blamed her. They demanded I be moved to a different hospital than her and... To be honest, I thought I'd never see her again." Lire took a deep breath, pressing a hand to her chest.

"Four years... Four years of nothingness inbetween waking up in the hospital. But then, when I was certain there was nothing left... I woke up in a forest. At first I was scared. How couldn't I be? I was almost eaten by the forest troll before I was saved by a group of Elves. I was a natural with a... A bow, so they trained me." She coughed gently.

"After a month I was proficient enough to leave the elven forest on my own. And I did, to head to Serdin. I didn't know what I was doing, or what I was trying to do, but... When I was in the village, I caught a glimpse of red hair. I was so surprised I chased after it blindly, and somehow... It was Elesis. We were thrilled to meet up, and she brought me to meet the Knight Master. Somehow she'd convinced this woman to teach her how to wield a sword, and she proved to be amazing at it. Elesis... Elesis had hated the real world. Her father had left on a buisness trip when she was a child and died in a plane crash; her mother wasn't an overly caring woman. Her physical limits due to the early stages didn't allow her to run around, to fight... To her, Bermesiah was like a miracle. Before I knew what had happened she had somehow signed us up to form a group called the 'Grand Chase', where we were supposed to be fighting some witch I had no idea about. I was worried at first, but I found myself having fun after a while. First we met Ronan... It was obvious from the start that Elesis had a crush on him." She paused again.

"The next person we met was Ryan. Ryan... He was always so outgoing, joking and fun. It was difficult not to enjoy being around him- But anyway, we moved on. Making our way to the Ellia continent, we faced several dangers before we got to Kaze'Aze's castle. When we got there we met Lass."

"How did you meet him?" Arme interrupted, unable to hold back, "I know what Kaze'Aze did to him, but..." Lire smiled knowingly, then sighed.

"His story wasn't happy... We had to fight him. After a long battle, Kaze'Aze released her hold on him to transform and we had to run. We brought him along with us, and Ronan used what little healing magic he had. Even so, Lass almost died. You have to understand... We didn't fight him because we wanted to." She added as Arme's expression tensed. The magician nodded softly.

"After a month or two in a nearby village he regained consciousness, and he felt terrible for what he had done... For lives he had taken. He joined our group, but never got close to any of us... Always following in the shadows. It was after we met Amy that things went badly." The green eyed girl, frowned, biting her lip.

"A cure was discovered. Elesis rejected it immediately; she had no reason to want it. She had everything for her in Bermesiah, why would she? Even her mother agreed it wasn't worth the cost. I loved Bermesiah, I loved the Grand Chase, and I... I loved Ryan, but... Arme, I have a **brother**." The magician tilted her head in confusion, waiting for more explanation.

"How do I say this...? He's my younger brother, but my parents... I don't know why, but they abandoned him. I was all he had left... With no money, no food and no **nothing **he would have **died**without me! With him sitting there, smiling at me like he always did, how could I say no to something to keep me alive? I told Elesis I had rejected the treatment as well the last time I saw her. I didn't want her to try to give up everything to come with me... Then I faded. It wasn't painful, but it was... Sad. I felt like something inside me had died, and I couldn't eat for weeks. Still, the moment I got out of the hospital I got a job to support Cole. Every moment of my life was dedicated to protecting him. I also begged my parents to make sure the hospital would never release the cure; I didn't want that to happen to anyone again. Then, one year later I was diagnosed with cancer and Cole... Cole walked away. I had provided him enough money to run, and so he did. My reason for staying just left, and I haven't seen him in four years. I don't know how I feel any more... Should I be mad at him for leaving? At me for not staying in Bermesiah? I just don't know." The archer seemed lost at that point; like she would have cried had her tears not dried up long ago. Arme reached out a hand hesitantly, laying it over Lire's own.

"He misses you badly. Ryan, I mean... Do you... Want me to tell him something?" Lire blinked slowly.

"You mean... You would give him a message from me?" She whispered quietly, beginning to cough again. Arme nodded.

"Tell him..." Lire attempted to calm her coughs with some of the water, but failed, " I... Tell him that I'm sorry." The violet haired magician tilted her head.

"Anything else?" Lire looked away.

"Tell him that I still... No. That's all." Arme frowned.

"No. That's not what you really want to say. Will you keep silent now, when you finally have the chance to talk to him?" Lire bit her lip roughly.

"But he..."

"Tell me what you honestly feel." The blonde bowed her head, whispering something inaudible.

"Hm?" Arme leaned closer.

"I- I miss him too." She coughed, "And... I love him. I still love him, and I miss him so badly!" Finally tears of despair began falling, and she clenched Arme's hand tightly as coughs racked her body.

"I'll let him know." Arme mumbled hazily, black dots hazing her vision. _I was able to hear the full story. At least this didn't happen before... _Her body fell forward, head landing on Lire's sheets as the girl under the blanket continued coughing violently. The last thing she heard were steadily approaching footsteps, and a faint '_Thank you'_.

* * *

Arme's eyes opened lazily, fading her into the familiar prison where the witch was still standing. Tears had begun falling down her cheeks quietly, not subsiding even as she tried to wipe them away.

"Learn anything interesting, child?" Arme gritted her teeth.

"You... It's been you this whole time." She whispered. The dark magician nodded.

"Took you a while, didn't it?" Arme stood up, noting once again the chains that held her hands behind her back as she struggled to her feet.

"How do you... Why would you even bring people from another dimension?" She asked angrily, "What's the point?" The witch paused, stroking her jawline.

"An interesting story... You'd like to know, wouldn't you? Very well." Kaze'Aze's face split into another malicious smile.

"Who, pray tell, do you think the first person to bridge the gap between your world and this was?" Arme didn't respond.

"Perhaps that pink haired girl?" Arme nodded ever so slightly, and the witch shook her head.

"No. It was another... You've heard of Sieghart the great?" Arme nodded again.

"The man who defeated you the first time." The witch's eyes sparked dangerously.

"Yes, that may be something he was known for. His birth was remarkable... Born in your world, but somehow ours collided. In that one instance, the child died and was pulled over to our side of the gate... No one was the wiser. He was raised in a small village, where after his odd entrance I monitored him loosely. This is the same child that so many years later was able to single handedly storm this castle... After my humiliating defeat, I realized something. His power, equaling to a good few hundred men, was no coincidence. I began to wonder..." A smile spread across her face.

"Five hundred years. That's how long it took me to perfect connection of the worlds. The first one I dragged over was the dancer, as a test. She, however, fell into the hands of the silver knights before I could capture her... I figured in the end it was no large loss. My next step was to search through the Sieghart family line. He had two brothers, who in turn had families. One of their grand children was the menace known as Elesis the knight." She frowned distastefully.

"That girl would have made such a perfect asset to my army had she not landed in the center of Serdin. The knight master got to her... I was hoping her friend would yield better results, but she fell to the elves. I decided to put my hopes in another summon... You." She purred, "A magician. What better a class for a deciple of myself? Making you a perfect weapon would have been so simple... I had troupes all over Bermesiah planned for your arrival. Then, on the day of your arrival, my dear child had to interrupt."

"The anmon soldiers were yours..." The witch nodded.

"He returned you to the village and presented you to Elena; it was the perfect opportunity to research you. In a mere month your progress was so much more than I had predicted! It was then that I needed to have you. I held no reserves... When Elena told me of your travel plans I had the Red Gorgos' den opened, with specific instructions to destroy the town and bring you back, but... Something went wrong. You weren't **there**. Then there was a second chance; you yourself went into the Gorgo's cave! Had the stupid beast not ran into the wall when it was supposed to escape I would have had you. I attempted with the trolls, and again with the harpies. When Elena arrived with news that you had already achieved second job... That useless magician was simply supposed to stall you until I arrived. Though that you withstood an orb with even a quarter of my magical force in it was impressive to discover, I must admit. It was when Elena died even with the new powers I bestowed upon her that I decided it would be best to fetch you myself. It took me a week to prepare this cell with enough seals to completely secure your powers, how do you like it?" Arme's head was spinning with all the information she had just had forced upon her, and her eyes felt stuck open with shock.

"You destroyed the village because of me? You did all of this... Because you wanted me to be your puppet?" The dark queen nodded.

"Yet again you exceed at stating the obvious! Hm? Don't look at me like that, it's really not all that bad... You won't feel the possession at all. You seem rather fond of Lass, perhaps you'd like me to possess him as well?"

"**No!**" Arme yelled back, "You're not going to do **anything **to **any **of them! It was you who made Lire sick with cancer after she was cured as well, wasn't it?" Kaze'aze blinked slowly.

"**Very **good," She commended, "I wasn't expecting you to make that connection. Yes, it was. Did she honestly expect to escape me so easi-" The witch's head jerked towards the window abruptly, a frown taking over her face.

"**Already**?" She hissed, "It's only been three days... I should have known he wouldn't appreciate me taking **his **little magician. She glanced at Arme (who was by that point rather confused) once again.

"Hm... Forced possession is quite clearly not going to work yet. I'm afraid you're going to need to sleep once more." It didn't seem to matter that Arme resisted being dragged to the front of the cage; soon the whole cell filled up with a purple vapour. Though she held her breath as long as she could her desperate need for oxygen soon won out, and the magician gasped for breath.

"I... Hate you..." She choked out, falling to her knees as the gas did it's work. A cruel laughter filled her ears as she was knocked out yet again, the stone floor a welcoming surface to her tired body.

* * *

A/N: It's Lire~ Everyone still following along? I hope this makes sense xD:; NaNoWriMo is coming up, and I finally have a vague plot outline! (Yes, I realize I'm behind o_o) Anyone else participating?

We're nearing the enddddddddd D8

-Utsuro

Another note I'd like to add is that technically Lire is about 21, or around there. Something about the illness disallowed her appearance to alter at all after the incident, so she still appears at the age she was healed~


	27. Never Forget

A/N: THE LAST CHAPTERRRRR ;-; (epilouge still needs to be done, but still xD;; ) Creditz for Amy's bag failure go to WillowWhip x3

Disclaimer: No GC for me D:

Chapter 26: Never Forget

* * *

"Lass, seriously, get back here!" Elesis yelled ahead at the silver haired boy, who was rushing ahead of the group yet again. He turned around to give her glare, and his uneasiness was clearly displayed in his posture. The peaks of Kaze'aze's castle were just barely

"We're almost there, now how about **you guys **hurry up?" He demanded impatiently, "You have no idea what Kaze'aze could be doing to her even now!" Elesis paused, breathing heavily as the rest of the group caught up to Lass. All of the magicians and other classes at the disposal of the town were several yards back, and the redheaded leader knew that they too were tired.

"Lass..." She sighed, "I **know**. And it's not like I'm not worried right now, I'm terrified for her! But we've been running for three days, and we've only stopped three times! Two of those were to eat, and when we did sleep hardly any of us got a decent amount! I've been lugging around a sword two times my weight, and I'm **tired**! Charging into Kaze'aze's castle right now is like suicide!" Ronan nodded from the side, and Lass scoffed, looking away.

"I know..." He agreed a moment later, "I **know**, but what if she possesses Arme? It's not like she just kidnaps magicians for no reason, she has a purpose, and with three days she's probably already started whatever she's doing!" Amy came over to put a hand on the distressed dark assassin's shoulder.

"Lass, if we go in there and die who's going to save Arme? Just sit down for a little while, we'll all get rested up and it'll go fine." Lass paused, staring down at the ground before reluctantly nodding.

"And no moping around like that..." Elesis added, "You're acting like your best friend just died."

"Or perhaps like Arme's been kidnapped by the strongest dark witch on the face of the planet because I was trying to avoid her?" He corrected sarcastically, running a hand through his hair.

"It wasn't your fault." Ronan responded sympathetically as he turned to Amy and began helping her drag the blankets out of her bag, "And Arme's not weak. Whatever Kaze'aze wants with her, she won't just give in." Lass bit his lip roughly.

"But... That's just it! She's not weak, but she's so... It's like she's a huge danger magnet! If something can go wrong, it will! She doesn't even have a weapon to defend herself!" He took a breath, continuing slightly quieter, "And I know she won't give in... That's what I'm afraid of. Kaze'aze has ways to **break **people. Even people as cheerful and determined and... Arme-like as Arme." By the time he finished his sentence his voice was no more than a whisper. Jin walked over, looking at him with concern.

"Lass, she'll be okay. I promise we'll get to her before anything happens... You should rest too." Lass looked around the area and shook his head, grimacing.

"I'd rather not, if it's all the same with you. This place isn't high on my 'favourite spots' list." Jin, following Lass' action, nodded.

"Amy, do you have that thing we found in the store the other day?" Ronan asked. Amy's face blanked.

"Ronan, I bought a **lot **of stuff at that store. You're gonna need to be more specific." She stated.

"You know... The thing for detecting enemies!" After a second Amy visibly lightened up.

"Oh! The monster detector! Of course I do!" She exclaimed, rummaging through her bag. Elesis watched somewhat worriedly as the dancer dug through the never ending supply of items. The others continued setting up and Ryan went back to tell the other troupes that they could rest. Lass lay back and stared up at the sky until a loud screech came from Amy. He sat up abruptly, looking over to see her gasping at her bag.

"**I forgot it!**" She exclaimed miserably, "I'm so sorry! I totally thought I had it with me!" The rest of the group semi-nodded at this statement; it was a pretty sound conclusion that Amy had everything with her at any given time. The pink haired girl looked as though she was about to die from shame, and she curled up on the ground.

"I can't believe I..."

"Amy?" Jin's voice cut in, and Amy shot up to look at him.

"Y-yeah?" She sniffled. The shisa reached into his pocket, pulling out an orange device.

"You didn't forget it, you let me borrow it the other day, remember?" Amy blinked.

"I... Oh yeah!" She chirped, leaping over to hug the red haired fighter, "Thank you~!" Lass sighed, lying back down. _They should really be more serious right now. Arme could be..._ He turned to his side as his mind attempted to play an image in his mind; only the slightest glimpse of a cell flashed before the dark assassin shut it out. _Don't think of that. Just forget it... Think about Arme. _That wasn't incredibly difficult. Opening his eyes, he glanced off at the peaks of the castle. _We'll be there soon. Just wait. _

_

* * *

_

"Lass?" Elesis murmured. The thief opened his eyes immediately, looking up at her.

"Time to go?" He questioned, standing up. The sword master nodded, looking over the troupes.

"It's dark. We're kind of hoping that'll give us some sort of advantage." The silver haired boy stretched lazily, and Elesis tilted her head.

"Did you sleep at all?" She asked somewhat hopefully. The assassin shook his head.

"I'll sleep when this is all over." He muttered. Elesis frowned.

"Don't you care that we're about to fight the strongest witch out there?" She demanded, "This **isn't **going to be easy!" Lass looked away.

"I know. What's the battle plan?" Elesis hesitated before answering, letting out a sigh.

"The majority of the people we have with us are magicians, which gives us a really good advantage. We're naturally expecting a fair amount of trouble from her lackies trying to keep us out, so they're providing backup and keeping the monsters down. We were able to find another muse somehow, which makes this a lot easier. With two..." Lass blinked.

"Isn't Amy a siren, though?" Elesis nodded.

"She is, but in this case her being a muse would be better."

"Care to explain?" Ronan walked over as Elesis continued speaking, the monster detector in his hand.

"Well, you should remember Amy's Rhapsody? It recovers mana to full, and all muse can use it, but it takes up their own mana. The general idea is that if we have two muse using rhapsody over and over again, they'll recover each other's mana **and **the mana of the magicians standing nearby. That way-" Ronan cut her off.

"We'll have meteors repeatedly, and that's not including the amount of damage we can get by the two battle mages using deep impact continuously. The warriors we found can go in and clean up whoever's left. While they're doing this the rest of us'll search the castle and grab Arme. Once we have her we'll finish Kaze'aze off."

"Sounds like a good plan." Lass agreed. The two looked at eachother warily, and the azure eyed boy knew why; even the best of plans could be thrown off by Kaze'aze.

"Well, I have the monster detector, and we'll use it so we're ready for attacks. Though... In all honest, from here on in we should be ready for attacks at any given time."

"We're all ready!" Amy exclaimed, "Let's move out!" _Finally__**. **_Looking up at the castle as the group began running, Lass sighed.

"What are the chances she already knows we're coming?" He asked idly. Elesis, looking up at the castle, shrugged.

"Oh, about... One hundred percent?" She replied, "Thought that's only judging by the swarms of miniature dragons flying above the castle." The moon had nearly been blotted out by the horde, darkening the area significantly.

"Should I send my dragon ahead to clear some of them out?" Ronan asked cautiously, following their gaze.

"Nah... Your summon wouldn't stand a chance in a horde like that. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get an areal view of here, though. You should take your dragon up to look around, but don't fly far ahead." He nodded, handing over the orange device to her and twirling his glave towards the sky.

"You didn't bring your shield and sword?" Elesis asked, a roar and the flap of wings filling the air. The spell knight shook his head.

"Some of us can't master our weapons in a couple days," he chuckled, "And I'd rather not chance this battle." The flaps grew louder and louder, increasing in volume until a gust of air nearly pushed the group over. The dragon landed rather nimbly for it's size, bowing it's neck so Ronan could get on.

"... Ronan? Take Lass, too." Elesis added as an afterthought. The assassin blinked.

"Why me?" The red haired knight looked at him seriously.

"You're going to get tired, I don't want you wasting your energy. Aside from that," She continued when she saw him frown and open his mouth, "The dragon will arrive in the castle first, and you wanna get there as fast as possible." Lass was silent for a moment; he then acquiesced, jumping up onto the dragon next to the blue haired knight.

"See you in a bit!" Ronan called, making a subtle gesture for the dragon to lift off. It did so, and soon all of the witch's castle was visible. It had quite clearly been rebuilt since the last time they had been there; a completely different shape than it had been the last time. It still made Lass shudder, and he instead focused on the horde above.

"There must be hundreds of them..." He muttered displeasedly, looking back to the spell knight.

"I wouldn't doubt if there were over a thousand." He responded with a sigh, "She really doesn't want us getting in there. Look at the base of the castle." At first Lass could see nothing wrong; the grounds of the castle appeared to be a dark purple. After a moment it appeared to almost shimmer; he squinted as he attempted to look closer.

"What...?" All of the castle was flooded with anmon soldiers; there wasn't a single hint of the stone floor in sight.

"This'll be fun..." He muttered, "It looks like she made the castle larger, too. Finding the prison'll be difficult... If she even left Arme in the prison." Ronan shrugged.

"We'll find her either way." He answered, "It'll take us less than an hour to get there."

"That's good, at least..." The white haired boy responded, staring into the hordes of enemies, "How well do you think this is going to go?"

"I have no idea, but... We can always hope for the best. When it's about Kaze'aze, you **never **know." Ronan looked over at Lass silently. He stared for several minutes before the assassin started finding it unnerving.

"... What?" Ronan took a deep breath, but didn't look away.

"Are you... Afraid to go back?" He questioned quietly. Lass blinked, and looked over at the castle.

"I..."

"You don't have to answer." Ronan added quickly, "Sorry. It was pretty insensitive of me to ask." The assassin seemed lost in thought, and silence ensued for a fair period of time.

"Yeah, I suppose I am." He said suddenly, "For some reason I never thought I'd come back here. I'm not going to run, though. I'll deal with whatever bad memories this place holds once and for all." The dragon began flying in idle circles as it's owner realized they had flown too far ahead, and it waited for the group to catch up patiently.

"Oh... Ellyrine told me to tell you she's sorry, as well." The dragon knight said. Lass scoffed, looking back at the ground troupes.

"She was too afraid to tell me herself?" Ronan shook his head, letting out a sigh.

"No, she knew you'd take it like this if she tried to tell you." He explained, "She really didn't mean for this to happen, Lass. It was just a bad timing of events." Lass shrugged somewhat indifferently.

"I already know that. Doesn't mean it didn't happen." He muttered, attempting to locate the blue haired magician in the crowd. He soon gave up, looking up at the sky.

"If it makes you feel better, she's offered a compromise on the guild thing. The next person in the list for guild leader was Ellyrine herself, so it was decided that she'd act sort of like a 'substitute leader' for Arme. Arme herself would be given an adequate amount of time to perfect both of her next jobs, and so long as the Grand Chase remained together she would be allowed to put her obligations with us before those with the guild." Lass frowned.

"She's still going on about that? It's not like Arme can becone the leader of the guild anyway... She'll be going... Home soon." He let out a sigh, and Ronan stared at him.

"Lass, how are you so sure she doesn't want to stay here?" He questioned quietly. The assassin's head whipped around, and he glared at the knight.

"Because she can't! Ronan, **Elesis** broke down the day she lost her connection with wherever she came from. Amy said she hadn't even seen her family in over five years, but she still **cried**. Arme... There's no way she doesn't have people who care about her, family, people she loves, people... People she'd die if she couldn't see again." Ronan looked down at the ground.

"And what about Lire? Don't you remember the day she disappeared?" Lass nodded lightly.

"Is it possible to forget?" Ronan glanced back at him, a frown on his face.

"Do you want **that **to happen again?" He asked. Lass was silent; he then leaned back with his palms against the dragon's scaley back.

"If it's better for Arme, yes." Ronan's eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm going to tell you this because as a friend, I'm worried for you. If you let her go like that, it will **break** you, Lass." The dark assassin stared back evenly.

"Maybe so. I don't mind, though, if I'm broken for her sake."

"**Ronan!**" A loud voice interrupted before the knight could respond, and the two on the dragon looked down to see Elesis waving. Ronan quickly lowered his dragon until it was flying just above the ground.

"**We're only a few minutes away, you two can go ahead!**" She yelled up. The knight nodded, at the command, and his dragon sped forward as they approached the outer wall of Kaze'aze's castle. The gate was closed- a minor inconvenience.

"Arc Breath!" Ronan commanded. The dragon followed the order without flaw; a large, blistering hot flame hit the drawbridge and lit it on fire.

"What are you doing? Fly up!" Lass exclaimed, eyes widening as they approached the flaming door.

"If we do that we're going to get attacked! Hold on, and try not to get burned!" The assassin grabbed onto several of the dragon's scales as it pulled in it's wings right before they crashed into the wood; there was an spray of flames and chunks of the gate falling everywhere as they made it through to the other side. Several anmon on the other side were taken out immediately; others seemed confused by the forward attack. The dragon scraped it's claws into the ground to stop itself from skidding forward, and by doing so threw Lass off the side.

"You're an idiot!" He yelled as he stumbled out of a small pile of debris and anmon parts, glaring at Ronan as he dismounted the dragon. Said knight shrugged.

"It worked, didn't it?" He replied, turning back to the gate as he pressed a hand to the dragon's side. It let out a navy blue glow and a roar before disappearing, leaving the two chasers in the midst of their enemies.

"How's everyone supposed to get in now?" Lass demanded as he turned around to slice through an anmon before it could attack.

"They have magicians and it's not a very large moat. They'll figure it out." Ronan responded, "But for now I think we should focus on staying alive and slaying as many of these things as possible." Lass nodded, a frown falling onto his face as he cut through another anmon soldier.

"This army's pretty makeshift..." He muttered, "It's not like they're difficult, there's just a **lot **of them..." Ronan nodded, setting off a rune on several enemies.

"It's times like this I wish I was still a spell knight," He sighed, "Kanavan Strike would make this a lot easier."

"I do too," Lass agreed, "Then you wouldn't have the means to send us through a burning door!" Ronan rolled his eyes.

"You- **Move!**" The white haired boy didn't stop to question the order; He quickly backflipped out from where he was standing just in time to see a purple ball of energy explode where he had been.

"**Watch out for the dragons!**" The knight warned. Lass looked up; The black horde had lowered, and several were diving down in attempts at hitting either knight.

"This is just great..." The dark assassin groaned, using his hyperjump to reach those of the swarm that were low enough. Aiming for their wings, he managed to send many of them down to the stone. Grounded they seemed just as persistant; sharp teeth biting in whenever they could. There was a minute of rough battle before a voice entered their ears.

"**Ronan, what the hell'd you do to the gate?**" Both turned to see Elesis storming in, waving her giant sword as though it was a twig. The others followed behind her, and the fighters behind the Grand Chase.

"Must everyone doubt my logic?" The blue knight complained jokingly, visibly relieved with the backup. Another muse ran up to the front of the group as all the magicians entered, nearly bumping into Amy.

"Are you r-ready?" She asked, holding out her violin. Amy nodded, smiling.

"We'll go ahead then, all right?" Elesis said, "Let's get searching these towers!" Lass took the lead as they began storming through the monsters, and cries of 'meteor!' began filling the area.

"Don't go too far ahead!" The red knight scolded, receiving a shrug.

"I won't!" Regardless of this, when they entered an area splitting into three different paths Lass was no where to be seen.

* * *

The assassin turned around as he entered what appeared to be a courtyard, strangely void of monsters.

"Looks like Elesis wasn't following very well... He sighed, turning back around, "all the monsters are probably still at the front gate..." Meteors could still be heard falling; Lass guessed they wouldn't stop for a while. Glancing around to observe his surroundings, his eyes skimmed across each tower.

"Which one is she in...?" Another, more unnerving thought came to mind; "And why hasn't Kaze'aze shown up yet?" No one answered (predictably), and Lass frowned.

"Guess this one's as good as any..." A thin path led out of the courtyard, but just before he could exit a voice called out.

"**Lass-kun! Over here!**" Turning around quickly, his eyes widened as a short figure lunged at him.

"**A-Arme?**" He exclaimed, eyes widening as she wrapped her arms around him.

"I thought you would never come..." She sniffled, "Where are the others?" Lass blinked, patting her head.

"They're just that way, come on. How'd you even...?" His voice trailed off, and Arme looked down at the ground.

"She probably thought I couldn't use magic without a weapon or something, because my cell wasn't at all prepared for magical attacks. It was pretty easy to get out, I've been hiding for a couple days." The assassin tilted his head.

"She what? ... Whatever, now's not the time. Let's go, the others are looking for you too..." He murmured, pulling on her arm. The magician resisted, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Lass, come this way! I found this orb thingy, and looks like it has something to do with you. I've been trying to break it, but it's not working!" Lass paused, sapphire eyes opening and closing slowly.

"Arme, we need to get you out of here!" He insisted. Arme frowned.

"Lass, **please**! I'm worried it could have something to do with her possessing you!" The girl exclaimed. Lass sighed.

"If you're sure..." He murmured, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead, "But let's go fast, you have to get out of here as soon as possible." Arme nodded, turning around and pulling Lass toward one of the other paths. There was a brief moment where she felt her hand slip through air; and the next thing she felt was the cool pressure of a blade up against her neck.

"Lass, what are yo-" There was no more time given; The blade pressed into her skin swifly, allowing a purple gas to begin leaking out. The magician began fading, and Lass watched as the mist began solidifying several feet away.

"Well, someone was rather certain of themselves... What gave me away?" Lass wasn't surprised when Kaze'aze appeared, a hand on her chin as she stared at him contemplatively. The dark assassin too a step back, glaring.

"For starters, Arme's never reffered to me with an honorific. Ever." The witch sighed.

"Well, I did correct that when I heard you call her 'Arme'." She frowned.

"Another thing is that there's no way you didn't know she could enchant without the use of a wand, and she'd generally have more of a reaction to me willingly kissing her on the forehead. Not to mention she doesn't know I was possessed." The dark queen's face lit up in a grin, and she chuckled lightly.

"She **didn't **know, my dear child." She corrected. Lass' eyes widened.

"**You told her?**" He hissed, glaring. The witch shrugged.

"Still have a temper, I see... I admit she might have heard a thing or two from me..." Lass continued backing up, whispering something inaudible under his breath. As he said it he disappeared, and turned to run full speed down the pathway. _I have to find the others... Something's wrong. _The latter thought came suddenly, and he tried to pinpoint what exactly it was. _Aside from the fact that you just found Arme, only to have her morph into Kaze'aze?... Yeah, something other than that. Though I do have to admit that was somewhat traumatizing. _He noticed what it was after a moment; there were no meteors in the sky. Before he had been filtering out noises as battle sounds; he was beginning to hear screams and the clanking of metal on stone.

"Damn it, what happened?" He muttered. Before he could make another step a pillar of flames shot up underneath his leg; the dark assassin gasped in pain as he became visible again, falling to the ground nearly immediately.

"Heard you~" The voice of the witch hummed, with no exact origin. Lass looked around hastily, using his invisibility again before forcing himself to stand up. His right leg had gone entirely numb; in those conditions he supposed it was for the best. _Where are the others? _He wondered frustratedly, looking around and trying to keep his breathing steady as he continued along the path at a considerably slower path. Kaze'aze formed once again, several feet above the maze of pathways and towers. She glanced across the ground with a frown, and Lass felt a chill as her eyes passed over him. Still, she didn't seem to be able to see him, and her green orbs continued on. More walled paths were showing up; as he entered them as he continued on his way towards the gate. _Elesis and the others should be headed this way too, I need to find them. _The first thing he passed was a seemingly lost anmon guard; it was swinging it's hammer around at nothing in particular. After eying it oddly for a moment he jumped over it, landing awkwardly on his injured leg. Letting out a quiet cry of pain, he fell to the ground again. For a moment, the assassin sat against the wall, staring up at the witch and just praying she hadn't heard. The guard, while confused, couldn't understand what had made the noise. It looked around for a moment before resuming the swinging of it's hammer. Lass closed his eyes for a moment as he let out a breath, opening them slowly. When he did so he realized the dark magician's gaze had fallen upon him, and unlike the previous time it wasn't moving on. Lass' heartbeat sped up, and he chanced a look down at his hand. Both he and the anmon soldier noticed his invisibility had worn off at the same time, and the white haired boy rolled over to avoid a hammer to his head.

"**Lass?**" Another voice entered the area, and Lass turned to see Amy standing at the next turn, the others following behind her. He let out a sigh of relief as they made quick work of the guard, and looked up to where the witch had disappeared.

"What happened to you?" Elesis demanded, kneeling down next to him, "You know it's a really bad idea to sit down in a place like this! And I told you not to run ahead!" Lass took another deep breath, allowing his head to rest on the stone wall.

"Sorry about that. I made it to a courtyard, and I found Arme-"

"**Arme? You saw her?**" Lass sighed.

"She said some wierd things... Turned out she was Kaze'aze in disguise. She set a fire column on my leg, and then we ended up here." Amy blinked.

"Can you stand?" Lass nodded, trying to push off the wall and failing.

"If I concentrate enough, probably..."

"I mean without hurting yourself!" The assassin shook his head.

"Can you do something about it? This isn't a good time to be idly chatting." Amy nodded.

"How much of your leg was hit?" She asked worriedly, sitting down next to Elesis. Ronan joined them a moment later.

"From just above the knee to the foot." He muttered, allowing her to pull up the pant leg and survey the damage.

"All right, hold on a minute." Amy's tongue stuck out in concentration as she hovered her hand above the skin, allowing a pink glow to cover the area. A navy blue joined seconds later, Ronan helping the muse.

"Elesis, are any monsters coming?" Jin asked calmly, pulling himself up onto the short wall. The redhead nodded.

"A couple anmon soldiers..." The fighter shrugged.

"I'll go deal with them." After he left Lass' eyes suddenly widened as he remembered the screams.

"What happened at the gate?" He demanded, watching as Amy's face fell into a frown.

"There was a traitor." She whispered, "Just one, but... No one expected any of the meteors to hit them, so with one attack a lot of our mages were down. We had no idea who cast the spell because everyone was casting meteor, and there was so much confusion after that... We couldn't keep using Rhapsody because we didn't want to give mana to our enemy, but at the same time... There was a big fuss going on, and I couldn't do much there so I came to find you guys. I ran into Elesis, and then we turned the corner and saw you here." She looked down at his leg again, letting out a sigh.

"It was really bad... We have a lot of casualties. Try bending your leg?" Lass did so, nodding.

"Thanks." Amy gave a hum of approval, pulling out a gauze and quickly wrapping it around his leg, "Be careful on that for a while, all right?"

"We have bigger matters now... Kaze'aze was just here, she's probably not far." Elesis glared down at the ground.

"And we know just as much as we did 10 minutes ago about Arme's whereabouts."

"Let's keep looking. **Together **this time." Ronan said, looking over at Lass. The assassin nodded. An explosion from nearby caught their attention, and the group looked up to see that Kaze'aze had reformed above them.

"Done chatting, children?" The witch asked impatiently. From her position in the air a tail that had been previously concealed had become visible, matching her ears. It swayed below her as she watched the chase condescendingly.

"Where's Arme?" Elesis demanded loudly. Ronan glanced at her with a disbelieving look.

"You **actually **expect her to answer that?" He questioned, looking up at the witch.

"She's not the brightest, is she?" Kaze'aze agreed, "However, I may just grace that with an answer... She's in one of the towers behind me. **If **you can get that far, that is. I don't plan on handing my precious magician over to the likes of you." Elesis gritted her teeth.

"You **will **hand her over, whether you want to or not! She's not yours!" The violet skinned woman laughed, waving her wand back and forth idly.

"I don't believe I will be. And what do you plan to do from down there, in any event?" Elesis' eyes narrowed as she glared at the magician, but Lass put an arm out in front of her to halt her.

"Elesis, calm down. She may not even be telling the truth about where Arme is... If I can keep cool right now, you certainly can." He muttered. To one who knew him well it was obvious the dark assassin was enraged, and Elesis quieted down. The dark queen frowned.

"My my, I do **so **dislike it when people don't believe me... Though I suppose not much can be done in this situation." Giving a smirk, she finally lifted her staff into the air. With a soft wave a ball of air formed, spiralling above her head and growing larger.

"Let's make the playing field a bit more... open, shall we?" She said. Before any of the chase could comprehend what was happening the ball exploded, throwing them left and right. The knights themselves didn't seem to be what she was aiming for, and when Lass opened his eyes he realized what she had done. All of the walls seperating the paths had been shattered, crumbing to the ground and being pushed back by the heavy-pressure winds. The towers around didn't seem to be affected by the gust other than the large chunks of stone lying against them, and aside from these there was nothing but a flat plane of stone. Some of it piled awkwardly where walls had previously been, but none provided much of a hiding spot from where the witch had disappeared again, her mist swirling to the center of the courtyard before resonating in a familiar glow.

"It's a bit early, but we're back to this part again? Bring it on! This way we can just get it out of the way and save Arme!" Elesis exclaimed, her grimace morphing into a smirk. Ronan sighed.

"You really are too hyped for battles, Elesis. This is seriously dangerous... Kaze'aze's true form isn't something to take lightly." He muttered as darkness began emitting from the glow. Lass looked back and forth between the two.

"Again?" He asked quietly, receiving a quick glance from both. The spell knight shrugged.

"You were unconscious during this part the last time," Elesis answered, "If we hadn't retreated you probably would have died." The assassin didn't reply, watching as two pointed ears shot out of the mass, followed by two paws thundering onto the ground.

"Everyone ready?" The red haired sword master asked quietly. The others nodded cautiously, and the swordsman began taking cautious steps towards the light. There was a second of absolute silence; it was followed by a loud, rumbling growl as the rest of the light exploded out, leaving a dark blue and white beast in its midst. Red tipped the end of its ears and the spikes that came out of its back, waving about. Lass glared back as Kaze'aze's thin green eyes locked down on him, her mouth stretching into a distorted smile. _If we can do this Arme can go home. _He wasn't sure whether the thought felt more like an instigation to continue the fight or turn around at that point, yet he still closed in on the witch with the rest of the group. _How about... If we do this, Arme'll be happy. _Taking a deep breath, he got into a more solid battle stance before lunging ahead of the rest of the group. The witch appeared to have seen it coming; a black barrier erupted from her, pushing back the chasers that were too close and sending out dark, inky orbs.

"It's curse, watch out!" Ronan yelled. Lass, steadying himself from the force of the barrier, looked around the battlefield hastily before deciding the curse orbs were too far away to bother with watching. He instead joined Elesis, who was preforming a frontal assault. Her sword hit numbly against the iron-solid skin of Kaze'aze, and Lass quickly hyperdashed through and to the other side before a large paw could be used to beat away the red haired female.

"**Curtain call~!**" Amy's voice reached Lass as he attempted slicing into the witch's. Like Elesis' his claws were parried by the steel-like body of the dark magician, and he moved back as to not be crushed by the piano that came crashing down on her back. Amy dropped down next to him as the piano began fading, and Kaze'aze turned around to look at them. The area began filling with a yellow glow, and Lass' eyes widened as an orb resembling a miniature sun began growing. The muse beside him didn't appear to have noticed the danger, and she strummed her violin in a gentle tune Lass recognized as Rhapsody.

"Move!" Amy blinked, and Lass didn't bother wasting more time. Grabbing her collar, he hastily pulled the dancer and himself out of the line of fire before the ball of heat blazed by. Stumbling to the ground as soon as Lass released her, Amy looked back up.

"What-"

"Watch more carefully!" He hissed, watching as Amy bit her lip and nodded.

"**You two still alive over there?**" Elesis' voice came from the other side, and from the volume the assassin guessed she wasn't very far away.

"**Barely!**" He called back, glancing at the muse and back to the witch. The floor began rattling as she lifted up her paws and smashed them against the ground, and Lass felt himself thrown up into the air before he could jump. Landing painfully on his back, rolled over and pushed himself up as he looked around the battlefield. Kaze'aze didn't appear to be in the mood to give them time to think- A light yellow glow emitted from her right before the battle field filled with white hot streaks of lightning, falling without partiality along the battlefield. A muffled scream was heard from the other side, and Lass winced as he registered the sound. _Ryan... _He looked back at Amy but it was unnecessary to tell her to go check on the sentinel; the muse had already jumped up into the air. Kaze'aze let out a growl as Amy used her nose as a platform, though the pink haired girl was too fast for the magician to do anything about it. The girl pushed off it to flip over to the other side successfully, avoiding a stab as the dark queen's back spikes elongated and thrust forward into the ground.

_"Nusances..." _Kaze'aze's voice echoed across the castle ground, her ears twitching in annoyance as she turned around to face the others. She dropped her front paws and shook the ground again, though Lass was more prepared. Dashing into the air, as he fell back to the ground he lashed out at the back of the creature yet again. Battle cries could be heard from the other side as well, and Lass looked at their enemy in frustration; she didn't appear to have damage anywhere on her. Even Elesis' heavy duty sword didn't seem to breach the thick armour, nor did Ronan's glaive. An indigo light flashed on the other side along with a returning bout of the lightning, though it didn't sound as though it had hit anyone. A roar issued from the sky as Ronan's dragon swooped down on the battle field, spewing flames against the witch.

"It's not doing **anything!**" An exclamation from Jin had the area filling with chuckles.

_"Of course not... You thought you could hurt me?" _Lass' teeth clenched as he hyperdashed through the dark queen to where the others were standing, and he quickly turned to look at the dark magician. _Jin's right, though... What can we __**do**__? _He looked around at the rest of his team and realized with shock that Ryan was still lying on the ground, Amy hovering over him.

"Is he unconscious?" The assassin questioned as he backed up, nearing the healing muse. The girl nodded gingerly, letting out a whimper as the ground began shaking. Lass hefted up the sentinel before he could be thrown in the air, dragging him over to Ronan.

"Can you call your dragon? We need to get Ryan out of here!" The spell knight nodded, but before he could lift his glaive into the air a grumble issued from the orange haired boy.

"D... Don't..." All eyes turned to Ryan, whose eyes were just barely open.

"I just need a minute..." Lass frowned as the air heated up again, and both he and Ronan dashed out of the way as a dark red fireball burned past them.

"We don't **have **a minute to give you!" He replied hastily, following Ronan's line of sight to where Elesis was standing. Somehow the girl was still right in front of Kaze'aze, though she seemed to be having difficulties holding the giant sword. If Lass had looked closer it would have been obvious why- her arm had been singed by the fire.

"Elesis, get back here and let Amy heal you!" The redhead glanced back, a frown on her face.

"Not right now, I-" The paw shot out before anyone had a chance to warn Elesis- it crashed into her back and forced her to the ground before she could move out of the way.

"**Elesis!**" Ronan dashed forward as the girl gasped in pain, the witch lifting up her paw and slamming it down on her.

"It'll **crush **her!" Amy exclaimed horrifiedly, Lass staring along with her and caught between holding up the sentinel or racing forward to help Elesis. _We can't... How are we supposed to win this? _Lass growled and lay the half-unconscious druid against one of the wall stubs, racing forward. Elesis had moved her sword over top of her as minimal protection from the beast, she couldn't seem to move much other than that. As Kaze'aze moved her paw to force it down and onto the knight again Ronan's glave swung up and into the soft palm, causing the dark queen to frown.

_"Must you continue to be a hinderance?" _She whispered, forcing the paw down further. Despite the pressure applied it dug no further into the skin, and Ronan's blade only acted as a prop to keep Kaze'aze from stepping on Elesis once more. Lass used the opportunity to pull Elesis out of harm's way, and he let out a held breath as Amy dashed forward to assist in healing.

"You've fought her before, what did you do **last **time to damage her?" Lass yelled at the dragon night as he joined him, blades pressing uselessly against the arm of the large dog.

"She wasn't nearly this strong last time, and even then we barely managed to faze her-" There was no warning given before the black barrier exploded out of the dark magician again, throwing back all of the chasers.

_"So you acknowledge this is a pointless battle? Why don't you just give up and join me again...?" _The last of this statement was addressed at Lass, and it caused the dark assassin to flinch back.

"Never." He replied venomously, "Never again." The ears of the beast drooped in mock-sadness, and a chill began creeping along the ground.

_"No one ever comes without force, do they?" _She whispered, _"But with or without force, I do believe I'll-" _

"**METEOR!**" Lass' heart momentarily stopped at this cry, his eyes widening and his head whipping around the battle field. Kaze'aze mimicked this action, and Lass felt himself beginning to panic.

"A magician made it from the front gate?" Jin looked around wildly as large meteors started falling from the sky, and everyone was shocked to see Kaze'aze let out a growl of pain as they made contact. _A magician from the gate? No... It's... _Casting his invisibility, the assassin began a dash across the field as he began hastily searched the area he had heard the voice come from. _Where- _And then a colour flashed in the corner of his vision; the slightest hint of purple. Resisting the urge to call out and accidentally give away his position, the assassin's eyes locked on to Kaze'aze to make sure she hadn't noticed anything before making his way to where the colour was. Behind the crumbling stub of a wall he found what he was looking for; taking a deep breath, he approached the girl huddled against the wall. _How...? _

"Arme!" As this hushed exclamation was made a head of purple hair shot up, and Lass found his hopes rewarded. Amethyst eyes looked around for the source of the voice, and Lass grabbed her shoulders to stop her from standing up before she could blow her cover. The growl of Kaze'aze grew louder, and Lass knew there wasn't much time before they would be spotted. Arme didn't struggle against the hands holding her down, and she blinked slowly.

"L... Lass?"

"Yes!" The dark assassin whispered urgently, looking at the dark queen again, "I don't know how you got out of there or- It doesn't matter, teleport out of here now!" He didn't feel the uncertainty he had when he had bumped into Kaze'aze 'Arme', and he could tell the one in front of him was real. The magician shook her head, making sure to keep her hair from showing over the brim of the wall.

"Nuh-uh!" She whispered back, eyes straying as she looked in the direction she assumed Lass to be.

"Arme, we aren't ready for this fight! If you teleport we can retreat, and come back when we're sure you're safe from her!" Arme shook her head again.

"No, Lass. I'm not leaving here unless Kaze'aze is **dead**." The assassin noticed an unusual look in her eyes; one more filled with pain than he had become used to on her face.

"Arme, what do you..."

"For what she did to you. For her attempt to break you so entirely you'd never be whole again... I won't walk away from her now." Lass' breath caught in his throat, and there was a moment before he released it.

"I didn't want you to find out about that... But Arme, **listen to me**-" An angry howl ripped into the night sky as Kaze'aze rose on her back paws, slamming back into the ground with her front. A tremor rippled through the ground, creating large cracks in the earth and throwing up the distracted assassin and mage.

_"Found you..." _The dark queen's voice echoed throughout the battle field as Arme became visible, and Lass grabbed her before they could both hit the ground when he abruptly realized she couldn't break her fall with her arms. They were locked behind her back with a thick metal cuff, and several thick pieces of chain link trailed behind.

"Why didn't you get rid of i-it?" The assassin let out a cough as he hit the ground, pushing himself up. Before the witch could form another attack he stood up with the magician in his arms, making a dash towards the area where the other chasers were standing.

_"How did you escape, my precious magician? That cell was made __**specially **__for you..." _Kaze'aze's haunting voice continued to ring, though a hint of what sounded to be urgency had fallen into her tone. The area started to cool rapidly, a white steam rising from the ground hinting to the ice that was starting to seep out of the cracks in the ground. It was moving quickly; quickly enough that Lass' foot was caught before he could make an escape.

"**Arme!**" A shrill voice exclaimed. Before the frost could crawl further up Lass' leg a violin shattered the ice near the base, allowing the thief to move again.

"**How did you get out of her dungeon?**" Arme frowned, and Lass felt her begin to struggle.

"No time for questions right now, I'll explain later, I swear! Lass, can you use your claws to deform the symbol on the back of this cuff?" Lass nodded, pulling further back as Kaze'aze began moving towards them and setting the violet haired magician down to see the shackle more clearly.

_"If you come now it will be a lot less painful for you, Arme..." _Ignoring her, Lass did as Arme requested. Once a thick line had been sliced through the black mark Arme's expression lightened, and the cuff seemed to crumble until Arme's arms were free.

"Thanks," She murmured, "It had a seal on it so magic wasn't working." The assassin nodded.

"Now Arme, tele-"

"**No!**" Lass shirked back at the firm statement, following Arme as she made small distance teleports to where Ryan and Elesis were, guarded by Ronan.

"Amy, Jin, can you guys hold her off for a bit?" Arme yelled.

_"Hold me off? A laughable idea..." _The shisa seemed to be about as doubtful as the witch, but he nodded.

"We'll try!" He replied, glancing at Amy before the two dashed forward. The magician dropped to her knees beside Elesis, who was staring at her with wide eyes.

"A-Arme? Weren't you-" The magician frowned, pressing a hand over Elesis' chest and arm.

"Not right now." She commanded again, "... All right, all done there... Were you hurt anywhere else?" The redheaded knight blinked, then shook her head slowly.

"Shouldn't heal take longer?" She asked, flexing her fully healed arm. The violet haired girl shook her head.

"Not if you do it right. I was thinking about it while I was trying to escape, and everything is just starting to make a lot more sense..."

"Arme, **please**!" Lass tried again, "Go back to the town and wait for us there! You don't even have a weapon!" Feeling Arme nearly glaring at him from the corner of her eye as she began casting a heal over Ryan, Lass sighed.

"Lass, no means no! I'm going to help, and I don't need a weapon!" She said again. Ronan frowned as he sliced through a curse orb that was floating liesurely in their direction.

"Arme, I think Lass is right... She's going to be-"

"Well **I **think Lass is wrong!" Elesis interjected, "Arme's not weak, she can help us! Aside from that, you think Kaze'aze would actually let her leave? All that would happen would be that Kaze'aze would teleport after her and Arme would have to fight alone! And Lass, I know this goes against your 'I can protect Arme she doesn't need to fight' theory, but you're going to have to deal with it!" This silenced both Lass and Ronan effectively, and they watched silently as Ryan regained full consciousness.

"Arme?" He mumbled lazily, blinking, "Is the fight already over?" Arme shook her head.

"No, I escaped." Before he could question what she was saying a blast of ice roared up from the ground in the corner of Arme's eye, followed by a blast of red and a shriek from Amy.

"**JIN!**" Arme's eyes shot over to where the dancer was pulling a badly injured shisa back to the group. The healed members of the chase shot out past her to stall Kaze'aze from slowly advancing, save Lass, who stood near Arme.

"Arme, what do we do?" Amy moaned in distress, "I-I wasn't looking and he was stabbed in the shoulder and he- He couldn't move and ice shot up from the ground and then a miniature flame ball hit him and Arme I don't think his breathing's so good and-" The siren was hyperventilating, tears in her eyes as she held the fighter tightly, "And Arme, I think he's dying and I can't live without him and what-" The magician put a hand on Amy's shoulder as she looked over the damage on Jin.

"Amy, please calm down and give me Jin, I can save him." Amy clutched the shisa tighter for a moment, then released him.

"D-don't let him die..." She sniffled, standing up and wiping the tears from her eyes. Arme nodded gently.

"I won't." The pink haired girl turned back to the battle, a visible fire in her eyes as she turned and dashed back into the fight. The violet haired girl placed a hand to Jin's chest first, over his heart. The other hand rested on his shoulder, where a hole had been created. She winced lightly at the look of the wound, then turned to Lass.

"Go help the others..." She whispered, "I'll come as soon as I'm finished here, all right?" The assassin pulled several kunai out of his pocket, shaking his head lightly.

"I'll fight from back here. I'm not leaving you alone again." He responded quietly, throwing one of the blades firmly. Since Arme's meteors had struck attacks seemed to be taking out more damage, and Kaze'aze had several small wounds on her. These wounds didn't seem to stop her from approaching Arme slowly, as she was.

_"Terribly pathetic... You're not going to get out of here alive... Why bother healing him?" _Arme looked up just in time to see Kaze'aze rearing up again, and she put her arms under the red haired fighter before teleporting several feet in the air. Landing seconds after the tremors stopped, the magician would have fallen over with the added weight of the shisa had Lass not quickly took him from her grip.

"Let's at least get back further..." He said, looking down at Jin, "And... He will be all right, right?" Arme nodded.

"If I heal quickly, yes... And if this battle ends quickly." When they had retreated further Arme placed her hands back on Jin's chest and shoulder, allowing the injuries to further close. His skin was beginning to regain it's colour, allowing Arme to let out a sigh of relief.

"His blood is flowing properly again." She stated, allowing the healing glow to spread over the rest of his body. The scalds on his skin were fading faster than Lass would have imagined possible, and they reminded Lass of his own injured leg. Ignoring the thought, he watched Kaze'aze closely. Arme's tongue had stuck out slightly as she concentrated on finishing the heal; they stayed that way for a moment.

"He'll be all right now." She said when the shisa let out a cough, looking around warily.

"Amy... Where's..." Arme looked at Lass.

"Lass, please put him down... Jin, you're still really hurt, I just did what I needed to to stop you from beeding openly and reconstructed the things that were really broken... I need to transport you out of here." The shisa's eyes widened.

"No! Please don't-" He coughed again, and a small smear of red appeared on his palm.

"Sorry, but I don't want you to take chances. Do you want Amy to worry about you?" The red haired fighter went silent, looking about the battlefield for the mentioned pink haired girl. Lass had set him down by that point, and Arme took the chance to place a hand on his shoulder. A purple light swirled around him, and in a moment Jin had dissappeared.

"Where'd you send him?" Lass questioned as they turned back to Kaze'aze, who was sending out several curse balls.

"Back to the cell she was holding me in." The magician replied, beginning to take small teleports, "I knew he didn't want to be too far away, and from there he should be safe from battle." The assassin nodded, turning to Arme and grabbing her arm before they could get too close.

"I..." He took a breath, "I know I've told you this a lot in the last five minutes or so, but be careful, all right?" Arme looked at him and her eyes softened for a moment.

"I will, Lass. You too. When we finish this battle, no one'll ever have to live with her terror again." A thought filled Lass' head quietly, and he made certain he didn't vocalize it.

_When this battle is over, you'll have to go back home. _

Arme had roughly twenty fireballs spiralling around her by the time they made it to Kaze'aze, and she shot them towards the witch quickly. They twirled and twisted around as a distraction, though didn't achieve much. Many were destroyed by an idly waving, pointed ear, and those that did survive only singed into the dark queen for moments before they were iced out of existance. Amy made a side dash over to where the magician and thief had moved to, pink eyes darting to the violet haired girl urgently.

"Where's Jin?" She questioned as notes flew off her violin in an erratic pattern. They seemed more violent and sharp than they had in the past, providing an appropriate background sound and hinting to the musician's distress.

"He's fine, Amy! I'll bring you to where he is after the battle!" Arme called back, pressing her hands together and concentrating. The sound of the violin eased ever so slightly as Lass somewhat hesitantly went forward to attack with the others, aiming for the slightly charred spots on Kaze'aze's body.

_"Insolence... You're tiring me..." _A yell of '**Saver!**' entered the air moments before lightning rained down on the group, making the chasers flinch as the green shields that had just been applied shuddered and cracked.

"Thunder!" When Arme said this an attack similar to lightning bolt lit up the area, an explosion of lightning seeming to center around Kaze'aze shooting out and making the witch groan. A dangerous sparkle in her green eyes lit up, and she let out another roar.

_"This is enough!"_When the witch hissed this the violet magician was surprised to see the other chasers nearly collapse, Ronan pressing his hands against his knees in order to keep himself from being grounded. Arme slumped over as well, and soon the area was filled with the sound of heavy breathing.

"Wh... What's-" Elesis began stammering angrily, trying to use her weapon as a prop to stand up. Kaze'aze kicked her away harshly, a gasp let out from the knight as she hit the nearby tower.

_"Enjoying the mana pressure, children?" _The beast purred, noting Arme with a mixture of disdain and interest.

_"And you... Still able to stand... Understanding your potential truly has made you stronger, hasn't it? No matter. Should we try more pressure...?" _The witch paused.

_"No... perhaps I shan't. It will be best for you to learn your place now." _Eyeing the others as they rose with a grin of amusement, Kaze'aze's laugh filled the area.

_"And the rest of you have grown as well... Elena reported some of you being unable to so much as walk up to where the orb was... Perhaps I should simply collect a full set of new pawns." _Most of the chase had made their way to their feet at that point, though they had to use their weapons as props.

"**Keep attacking!**" Ronan commanded, turning his gaze to Elesis, who was using the wall to push herself back up. Arme bit her lip, looking around at the other chasers and then at Kaze'aze. _This is rediculous. We can't fight like this! _Her mind raced as another flame ball was prepared in Kaze'aze's paws, and she teleported to the edge of the field. _What can I do? _Her mind strained to think of a plan, and she glanced over at her comrades once more. _I can saver them, but that won't... _Her eyes widened, and she pressed her hands together again. _**Please let this work!**_

"Mana shield!" savers of a deep blue spun out of her palms, making their way to a chaser. Once surrounded the fighters didn't seem nearly as pressured, and they turned to look at Arme.

"What did you do!" Lass questioned, slicing against Kaze'aze's back.

_"She protected you with her own mana pressure. A smart move." _The witch replied, twisting and nearly biting Lass in the arm before he could dash back and out of her range.

"**We can do this!**" A voice yelled out. Arme turned to see Elesis dashing back into action, her blade slashing against the monster's foot and cutting slimly through the armour.

_"Don't get cocky because you can move." _Kaze'aze spat. Her leg shot out again, but Elesis was prepared. Using her wedged in sword as a hold, Elesis jumped up onto the dark queen's leg. Pulling out her blade hastily when Kaze'aze's leg was at a proper angle, she lunged forward with the giant sword once more.

"**DRAGON DIVE!**" A red burst of flame followed her sword as it pierced into Kaze'aze's shoulder, making the witch scream. Before she could be thrown off Ronan thrusted his glaive upward, and a familiar sapphire glint shone off it's blade. Arme's vision of Ronan was quite abruptly cut off by a breeze of orange feathers, and she watched in confusion as a blue-skinned, orange haired monster clawed against Kaze'aze's s stomach.

"R-Ryan?" She questioned to no one in particular, pressing forward with several flames. Amy nodded at her question.

"It's the nephilim!" She didn't elaborate, rushing against the side of Kaze'aze with her violin prepped. The roar of a dragon reached Arme's ears as Ronan's summon entered, a coil of flames entering the attack and pouring over Kaze'aze's head. There was a flash of white above the dark witch followed by another jarring scream; Arme realized quickly that Lass had managed to stab a blade of his claws into the vibrant emerald of Kaze'aze's eye. _We need to end this __**now.**_Kaze'aze shook furiously, an action that threw the assassin off the top of her head where he had been perched. Violet eyes watched horrifiedly as he was thrown through the air, and she forced herself to look away. _If we don't end this now, we'll lose_. Something inside her head repeated this, and she knew it was true. Taking a quick breath, Arme teleported into the center of the chaos. Slamming both of her palms to the ground, the magician squeezed her eyes shut.

_**"FIRE STORM!"**_A crack in the ground exploded directly underneath Kaze'aze and Arme, shooting up a broiling geyser of flame. It consumed the witch entirely, and though there were others surrounded by the flames they didn't seem to be affected by the heat at all. Yet another wretched scream filled the night; it tapered out with Arme's flames a minute later. The area was filled with silence; it lapsed over all of the chasers heavily. Arme, kneeling on the ground, panted heavily.

"Did it..." A shudder of the ground and a crackle of the greatly charred beast made all the members step back, and Amy grabbed Arme's shoulder to yank her away from the scene of the battle a second before an outburst of soot shot from the witch, seemingly making her crumble. It fell through the area, coating everything like a black snowfall and leaving in it's midst the human form of Kaze'aze. Her body was bleeding profusely; eye wide and edged with insanity. Her skin appeared to be burned badly everywhere, and it too was cracking away.

"No..." She rasped, eyes darting around at the chase, who watched her warily, "No... **No!** This pain... What's **happening?**" Arme rubbed her eyes free of ash, holding onto Amy's shoulder to keep herself from falling.

"You're dying." She remarked coldly, "Just like I told you you would." The dark queen's eye focused onto Arme, and her face cracked painfully into a smile.

_"You... You... You... This is all __**your **__fault, my __**precious magician**__." _She hissed, hacking loudly, _"I should have known no good would come of you. That power... You were faking being hit by my pressure, it didn't effect you at all..."_Her body shook in spasms of coughing, her hands chipping away. In fact, the dark magician's very existance appeared to be being disinigrated by the air. The one emerald eye she still possessed swayed, as though it couldn't keep focus any more.

_"Perhaps... Perhaps you are right... Perhaps I am __**dying**__. You think you'll just walk away from me? The last laugh __**will be mine.**__" _Even though the chase stood there, no one could quite comprehend the need to attack the dying witch. Her fingers had crumbled- the dark staff she had been holding fell to the ground, landing in a soft pile of soot. Her mouth moved rapidly, and Arme squinted in an attempt to make out what she was saying.

"You can't do anything. Just give up and live your last minute in acceptance of what you've done." The witch laughed.

_"What I've done? Do you forget it is I who you owe this existence to?" _She replied, _"But now... I'll break it. Your mission may be done here, my precious magician, but... I don't think I'll let you go back." _Elesis twitched.

"What are you trying to say!" The witch only laughed.

_"Don't you feel it? The bridge will shatter... And you alone will be stranded. I know where your heart lies... I'll shatter it with my last breath. And... __**she**__ shall be lost to the sands of time... So unfortunate..." _

"**Damn it, what are you saying?**" Elesis demanded. Kaze'aze's laughter elevated in volume, and Arme's eyes widened as the last of the witch was taken by the breeze, leaving only her haunting laughter.

As soon as the last of the magician had faded Arme and Amy both nearly fell, the taller girl holding the shorter up. Nearby, Elesis had slouched over. The violet magician, steadying herself, looked around blindly while the laughter petered off, and it was soon replaced by Elesis.

"**WE DID IT! WE REALLY DID IT!**" She yelled, laughing and shaking from excitement. Amy joined her, though her laughter was strained. The musician was more focused on Arme, who seemed lost.

"Lass..." She whispered, "Where's Lass?" It took another moment for her to notice his snow white hair among the ashes, the assassin lying on his back as soot rained down around him.

"**Lass, we did it!**" Elesis yelled, running over. Her step appeared to be off; slightly less coordinated than it normally was. There were only a few seconds before they made it to where the assassin was, and Arme lay her hands over him gingerly.

"Lass, are you all right?" A blue eye peeked open slowly, and the assassin nodded. An unusual smile had taken over his face; it didn't disappear as he looked at Arme. Amy tilted her head.

"And your leg?" She asked quietly. Lass sat up, still focused on Arme.

"I don't think I can walk." He replied, "But it's not like it wasn't worth it." The violet haired magician blinked, realizing for the first time the blood seeping through sooty black bandages.

"That's not all right!" She scolded, trying to focus her mana into a cure. After a minute she didn't feel as though she was getting far, and she bit her lip.

"I think I'm out..." Letting out an unexpected sigh, Arme felt her body run out of air, "I think I'm out of mana, sorry. That's the best I can do..." Lass nodded, stretching his leg.

"It's better." Ruffling her hair to clean it of the ashes, Arme gasped when she saw a tear run down Lass' cheek.

"L...Lass?" The assassin looked away.

"It's nothing. H... How did you escape the cell?" Arme blinked slowly, then nodded in comprehension.

"Oh! I... There were symbols written on the wall, like the back of my cuffs. She made the cell strong, yeah, but it wasn't prepared for attack. The main reason for this is because I couldn't **use **my magic in there. She was probably expecting to watch me until I gave in... They were on the wall pretty deeply, but after rubbing against the wall with the corner of my cuffs on them, I was able to cut through the line of one. It didn't weaken the cell much, but it was enough for me to use a spell on the chain and the bars. I couldn't break the cuffs because they had the symbol on them... They were weakening my magic a lot..." She took another deep breath, looking around. She paused when her eyes landed on Ryan, who had changed back from Nephilim.

"And I... Learned a lot while I was in there." Turning to Lass, she smiled sadly.

"I really did want to hear about your past from you..." The assassin didn't respond, and Arme looked back at the rest of them.

"What else happened?" Elesis asked quietly, "I get the feeling that wasn't all she showed you." Arme nodded in confirmation.

"I... Well, now I know what was going on all this time... Why didn't **anyone **tell me?" Her question wasn't angry; just truly confused. Ronan looked down at the ground.

"Well, at first we weren't certain, and then... After all the confusion with... Lire... And... We didn't want to affect what you chose, and... Maybe in the end, all of us were just too afraid to confirm our suspicions. Which were pretty clearly right after the first time you passed out, but..." The dragon knight looked back up at Arme, but she was focused on Ryan.

"She sent me back..." Arme whispered. Elesis kneeled down.

"To the hospital?" The violet magician nodded.

"But that wasn't all." She took a breath, closing her eyes, "... I met Lire." The moment she said this Ryan shot over, dropping to his knees in front of her to look directly into amethyst eyes.

"You- You saw Lire? He stuttered, "You saw..." Tears were forming in his eyes, and Arme nodded again, placing a hand on the orange haired boy's heart.

"Yeah. She wanted me to tell you that she's sorry, she misses you... And she wanted you to know she still loves you." The green eyed boy gaped at her, his body shaking.

"She still..." His head raised to the sky, eyes closed to stop the still softly falling soot from entering them.

"Why did she leave me?" He questioned quietly; brokenly, "I needed her. Whatever her reason, I should have done more for her, I should have told her I loved her, I should have let her know every day... " Tears began leaking from the corners of his eyes, but he didn't wipe them away.

"I need her back..." He whispered, "Please tell me, Arme... **Please **tell me I can have her back! I'll never let anyone take her from me again!" This cry went unanswered, and the druid buried his head in his hands.

"It wasn't your fault... Elesis, she wanted to say sorry to you too." Looking around, she continued, "To all of you." Arme coughed gently, a throbbing in her head. Elesis and Amy seemed to be in similar pain, and Arme looked between both of them.

"It's..." Her head was spinning, though it stopped after a moment, "The connection." Her eyes widened, a look of terror crossing her face, "**She shattered it!**" Lass jolted, staring at Arme, who looked confused.

"The connection is breaking? You mean you can't go back?" Arme shook her head, shivering. Looking focusedly at the assassin, she shook her head.

"N... Not quite. It's not broken yet... She used the last of her magic to... I don't know what, but I can feel it... She's trying to pull me back to the other side." The silver haired boy didn't seem to know what to say. His mouth opened and closed as though he was trying to speak, and in the end he closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

"Oh." Arme stared at him, disbelief clear on her face.

"**Oh?** Lass, are you getting what's going on? If the connection breaks and I'm on the other side, I'll never be able to see you again!" Lass opened his eyes and nodded, the same sad smile from before pulling onto his face.

"I know. But there's... Better for you than here." The magician's mouth gaped open, and she didn't move her gaze.

"Are you trying to say it's okay for you if you never see me again? Lass, in a few minutes I could **dissapear!**" The silver haired boy nodded again, eyes watering up. He tried to conceal this by turning his head, though it didn't work well.

"It's not **could**, it's **will**." He corrected gently, "You'll forget about us. You can have a normal life now." Arme reached out to press a hand to Lass' cheek.

"I didn't ask what would happen to me. I asked if you really wanted to never see me again. I know I've caused a lot of trouble for you, but..."

"You were never a trouble." He responded, "I never disliked saving you, and... I'm grateful I met you. I'll never forget, so... Just think of us every once and a while."

"You won't forget. Lass, I won't let you forget." The silver haired assassin tilted his head.

"You won't let me? What do you-" Arme took a swift breath, leaning forward and grabbing the front of Lass' shirt to yank him towards herself. The surprised dark assassin couldn't sum up her actions soon enough to move himself, and before he could make a protest his and Arme's lips were pressed together. There was a mere second where he pressed back, and the violet haired female could feel an arm wrap around her back. The next second all traces of warmth were gone; she opened her eyes to see Lass standing several feet away. His face was pale, his eyes wide and confused. He was leaning on his left leg, and Arme could tell his right was causing him pain.

"Wh... Why did you do that?" He demanded after a moment, "Arme, you're going to fade away soon and I'll never- Why?" Arme looked away.

"Because..." She mumbled somewhat embarrasedly, "I could see the court yard from my cell! And... I saw you kiss the other me and-"

"I kissed her on the forehead to make sure she **wasn't **you!" The assassin exclaimed, vexation coming out in his voice. Arme huffed, looking back at him as a cherry coloured blush covered her cheeks.

"I also did it because I wanted to..." She continued, keeping her eyes on the silver haired boy and ignoring the stares of the other members. Lass let out a groan, pressing a hand to his forehead.

"**There**'s the problem! Arme, you're not supposed to want to have anything to do with me!" Arme blinked, feeling quite suddenly guilty when the Lass' blue eyes began building tears of frustration. Over the time she had known him Arme couldn't remember the assassin crying once, and she internally cringed at the thought of how many times she had been reduced to tears in front of him. When she took a step toward him the thief backed up, though he didn't look away.

"Well I **do**." She replied insistantly, "And I don't want to disappear! I want to stay here!" Lass stared silently for a moment, then began to shake his head.

"Arme, you have a **family**over there! Are you really ready to give them up just like that?" He questioned. This seemed to catch Arme off guard; she paused for a moment, and then nodded her head ever so slightly.

"If it's to be here, yes." The assassin growled in frustration, taking a step closer to Arme.

"What are you thinking? Arme, you grew up there, you... **Everything**'s over there for you... We can't... **I**can't take that all away from you. A-and didn't you say you were going to be forced back over there anyway?" Arme smiled at this, pressing a hand to her forehead as a sudden throb hit her.

"I... Never was very good at doing what people expected of me. So what if she's trying to send me back? I have magic too... I can fight back." Another, more tentative step was taken towards Arme as Lass saw her hand pressing roughly against her skin.

"Don't fight it..." He whispered, "It's all right. You don't need to do this for me... I'm not going to let you hurt yourself because of this." Arme laughed gently.

"Did you ever consider that I'm not doing this for you? That I'm going to fight with all my heart because I want to be here **with **you? Besides, you said you'd protect me. How are you going to keep your promise if we're in different worlds?" Lass sighed.

"You'll survive... I hope. Or you'll... find someone else." The magician shook her head violently.

"I don't **want **to find someone else!" Sapphire eyes closed slowly, a single thought ringing through the assassin's mind. _I don't want you to find someone else either._

"Arme... This is the last time I'm ever going to see you, I don't want to fight with you..." Arme crossed her arms, watching Lass closely.

"Lass, **why **are you so adamant that I want to leave?" She asked. The assassin's eyes avoided her own, though they darted back shortly enough, as though he was afraid she would disappear if he looked away for too long.

"Because you've lived there for **fifteen years**, Arme! You've been here for about **three months**! I don't want you to decide your life on that, and then realize later on that you really never will see your family again! I don't want you to realize you've abandoned the life you really care about... I can't do that to you. Peace will come soon... In a few years the Grand Chase won't be needed. What would you do then?" Arme took a step forward; the throbbing in her head impairing her sense of distance and making her tumble forwards and into Lass. The assassin wasn't prepared; catching the magician set all of his weight on his right foot and sent them both falling to the ground. Arme found herself lying next to Lass against the soot-covered ground, and reached out a hand to hold his. The ashes that had been raining down from the sky had nearly dispersed; very few were still in the air and most covered the clothes and hair of the chasers.

"I'll spend my time with you, and I'll learn more about you from **you**. I can learn to use all of my weapons properly, and you can somehow accept the fact that the Sidtri's not out to get you. I don't care what it is, so long as I can spend time with you." The snow-haired boy reached out a hand to take hers timidly, and he let out a sigh.

"This is exactly what I was afraid would happen..." He turned to stare at the sky, "Right from the moment I met you. To tell the truth, when I saw the how the others acted around each other I was confused... I thought it was ridiculous, how they'd act stupidly around a certain person because they couldn't think straight. And after what happened to Lire... It seemed even more ridiculous, but then... **You** showed up and..." His trail of thought cut off suddenly, and he turned to look at her.

"Forget everything I just said. I'm supposed to be saying good bye, not pouring out my heart. And on a side note, that bird **is **out to kill me." Arme laughed again, then fell into a coughing fit.

"Lass, I **want **to hear you pour out your heart to me some times. I don't always want to be the weak one..." Her body inevitably curled inward as she tried to press away the pain in her head, "Don't say good bye." The thief sat up, pushing himself over so he was leaning over Arme.

"Arme, don't fight her..."

"Lass?" The assassin nodded.

"Can you honestly look me in the eye and say you never want to see me again?" Lass was caught off guard by the question, and Arme continued it a moment later.

"If you can, I'll do what you want..." The dark assassin's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to speak. Words that were supposed to come out stayed mute, and Lass found that no amount of prompting he could give them would lure them out. _What are you doing? Now's your chance to save her! Now's your chance to protect her one last time! _Lass closed his mouth, opening it again after clearing out his throat.

"Arme, I..." A tear dropped from his cheek down to her own, "Of course I can't, stupid." Arme's grin widened, and she reached up to tug on Lass' bangs gently.

"I'll see you again soon." As Arme's vision began to fade she looked around at the other members of the chase, mouthing '_See you_' silently. Her eyes fell on Lass one last time before an all-too familiar darkness consumed her once more, his protests ringing in her ears.

* * *

And just like that, Arme was back in the darkness. Things weren't quiet as they had been in the past, however; if anything, it was much too loud. Sounds from both worlds were crashing down on her with little to no unison, increasing the pain in her head. Only one thing remained constant- The sound of a ticking clock.

* * *

_"__**Do you have her back?**__" _

_"Yes sir, her condition is much more stable than it was, I'd say she's improving..."_

_"Good, keep her that way... I thought we'd lost her there for a minute..." _

_"What do we do now, though? Her body should be accepting the cure, but it's rejecting it like it's a virus..." _

_"It's probably just her body's preliminary defenses coming in stronger than they should. Keep introducing it into her system a little bit at a time." _

_

* * *

_

_"And you're sure neither of you two feel like you're being pulled over as well?" _

_"Yeah... I think Kaze'aze only had the strength to force one of us back, and she's trying to do it to Arme."_

_"Damn it, damn it, damn it..." _

_"Lass, stop it. You're acting like a child... Why can't you accept that she wants to be here?" _

_"If I had just told her what she needed to hear she wouldn't be in __**pain **__right now..." _

_"Don't ignore me, and answer the question!" _

_"Because I don't want her to hurt! I don't want her to be in danger, all right? I just want... I just want her to be somewhere safe, and here __**isn't **__safe." _

_"It is if you protect her. Aside from that, Kaze'aze's gone. Things won't be targeting her anymore." _

_"You all... I'm sorry, Arme."_

_

* * *

_

Days passed in a repetitive fashion, and Arme's struggles grew greater each minute. The voices of the hospital workers had gotten frighteningly loud over the first while, and Arme had quickly come to realize that the louder their voices, the closer her condition came to being cured. This thought in mind, the violet haired girl focused entirely on pushing away those voices.

* * *

_"... Arme? Keep hanging in there... Your father and I are right here waiting for you."_

_"Brought you something from Hong Kong this time, princess. You're going to have to wake up to get it though, all right?" _

_"... I never should have taken her out of the hospital... They were right about her condition..."_

_"She'll make it. Our princess would never give in." _

_

* * *

_

These were the first voices to make Arme falter. In that one second she could hear the voices of her parents perfectly clearly, and the vague sound of a heart monitor beating wildly in the background. Thin tears trailed down her cheeks, bubbling out into the black space._ I... _Hesitance was all it took- At her lack of resistance to the dark queen's last spell the violet haired girl could feel herself being tugged towards life again. _I... _

_

* * *

_

_"I'm sorry, Arme. I'm so sorry, but... I love you." _

_**Lass. **_

_**

* * *

**_

Arme's breathing quite suddenly steadied out; her fingers and toes were able to twitch about without the pain of the dark void. She squinted her eyes together tightly, her breath catching in her throat. Eyelids slid open slowly, and the violet magician's voice died out.

What lay before her was an entirely white room. Everything in it featured generic white furniture; the chairs, the couch, the sheets on her bed. The room in itself was enough to make Arme sick; it probably would have had two things not set it apart from the hospital room she so detested.

Visible from the window was a grand castle; the sounds of crowds hustling through overly crowded streets.

The second thing was the head of a familiar assassin, his snowy white hair splayed across the blanket of her bed and nearly camoflauged against it's white as he slumped over from his chair next to the bed. Arme's heart resumed a proper pace, though it picked up once again as she pressed a hand gently against his hair, as to not wake him. A soft smile crossed her face, and Arme leaned over to hover her head above the thief's.

"I love you too, Lass."

* * *

A/N: And there we go~! 8D Thank you all for staying with me this far, it's an honour to have so many reviewers and views for this story! I'm also sorry for the fight failure and the long wait D: I hate writing battle scenes...

I know right now you're probably all thinking something along the lines of "WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED THAT'S NOT AN ENDING D8 STUPID UTSIE", and I agree with you xD;; Fortunately, we have the epilogue to clear everything else up!

I'll just cut this off here for now, you guys can read my 'IT'S REALLY DONE D:' a/n at the end of the next epilogue :3

-Utsuro


	28. A Brave New World

A/N: It's finally the epilouge~ The name of this epilouge is actually one of the missions for Xenia or something like that, but... It just seemed to fit~

Disclaimer: This is the last time I have to say it on this story! :D I don't own GC!

Epilouge: A Brave New World

* * *

Arme stood at the top of a quiet hill, several trees surrounding her as she waved around a long staff randomly. A shorter staff, a pot and a lamp sat under a tree nearby, recently used, and a bird of red and gold flew in wide circles above. A hat sat atop the girl's head, watching her lazily.

_"Honestly Arme, are you listening to anything I'm telling you or just waving your staff around like a useless stick? You're the leader of the violet mages, not some child pretending to be a knight!" _Arme glared up at the hat, huffing.

"I'm trying, Bou! This isn't easy, you know!" She retorted, swinging the staff up in the air once again. Mahou Boushi sighed for the umpteenth time that day, rolling its purple eyes.

_"Do we have to go over this __**again**__? You don't have much time left today anyway, you know. Look at the sun. Weren't you supposed to go somewhere with Ninja-boy today?" _Arme glanced up as instructed, blinking at the sight of the fiery orb in the sky.

"It's already that late? Lass and I were going to head to some villages to check out some rumors on some twisted god... He wanted to leave around noon." Arme sighed, "... We should get going, then. But... I really wanted to master this today so I could show him..." Noting Arme's dejected thoughts, the hat was silent for a moment.

_"Let's go through this one more time, all right? Deep Impact is __**just like **__meteor." _He lectured quietly, _"Only bigger. Your problem is that you keep thinking meteor... You need to realize you're summoning something much larger than meteors... How about we put it like this? Don't think meteor, think asteroid. From there, point the war staff to the sky. Saying 'Deep Impact' out loud would be better for now, even though it's generally frowned upon in actual battle. You're only practicing today anyway, and it's only been a month. You're already moving on from the lantern, to have gotten most of the skills of a battle mage is amazing." _Arme nodded, taking a deep breath.

"What I did with the lantern was hardly mastering, though, Bou..." She muttered, "I just wanted to get a basic knowledge of it before I moved on to the war staff... After all, I can't lead a guild if I can't even be a successful battle mage..."

_"Don't put yourself down, and I really wish you'd stop addressing me by that ridiculous name. I've never seen spirits take to people like they did you, they normally have an incredible dislike of those who aren't spirits themselves. Most can hardly tolerate mages." _As if to verify this there was gentle laugh in the passing breeze, and Arme felt the Sylph fly by. Salamander hovered over the lamp three spirits called home, and if one concentrated they could vaguely see the outline of Undine's head peaking out of the lake nearby. All watched over their new charge with interest, observing her whenever there was an opportunity.

"Could be because Elena had them locked in there for years... From what I hear, she didn't use her lamp often." The hat nodded as much as it could.

_"You made a wise decision, allowing them to roam when you're not in battle. Now hurry up, let's try this once more. Come on, before you're late!" _Arme shut her eyes, her hand gripping her staff tightly. It had only been one month since their battle with Kaze'aze, and Arme had been mostly been practicing with her weapons. Lass would often accompany her to the small, peaceful area she had claimed for practicing her weapon, though on that particular day she had insisted he stay home so she could surprise him with her job change. Biting her lip gently, the magician took a deep breath before following the hat's orders.

"**Deep Impact!**" Holding the pose of her staff in the air for a moment, Arme paused and waited. The area's temperature changed quickly, heating up in correspondence with her attack. Shadows loomed over her, and Arme turned around to see large, firey boulders falling from the sky. Salamander was weaving around them, pleased with Arme's development. The magician grinned as they fell around her, and she began laughing excitedly.

"Yes! Thank you, Bou!" She smiled, holding her staff tightly, "That means I'm an official battle magician!" As she said this the Sidtri swooped in, seating itself on her shoulder and letting out a squall of three melodic notes.

_"What did I say about the name ...?" _It sighed, finally giving in and smiling as well, _"Congratulations. Ellyrine will be pleased, this means we have five battle mages again..." _Arme sighed as she was reminded of the great losses of the battle with Kaze'aze for the violet mage guild.

"I still can't believe we lost fifteen magicians and four alchemists... That's almost three fourths of the magicians we brought... Not to mention losing Lore." The hat was silent as Arme walked over to the tree to grab the weapons that lay there. The Sidri lifted off her shoulder before she could, picking up the pot to make it easier for the magician to carry the other items.

_"I'm quite astonished that Ellyrine would still be the replacement leader so soon after Lore passed away... They were partners when they got battle magician status, when Elena lent Ellyrine me for a while. Well, Elena never was one to choose a weak pupil."_

"That was still a lot of magicians..."

_"And it was a battle I'm sure they were honoured to give their lives in." _Turning to where she could see the grand chase house, Arme stretched.

"Honour isn't everything, Bou..." She replied, beginning to make her way down the hill. Looking up at the sun, the magician rethought her plan and closed her eyes. The next time she opened them she was standing in front of the gate of the house, the tall walls looming over her. The trick gate had been replaced with an actually functioning one upon their return from Maurion after Elesis had broken it down in a fit of frustration involving the difficulties of jumping over an eight foot gate with a sword easily weighing the same as her, though Arme still teleported through it for convenience's sake. Pushing open the door she peered around the hall way before making her way up the stairs and into her room. Once she had set down her weapons on the bed she picked up the war staff again, looking at it appreciatively as the Sidri dropped the pot onto the bed next to the other items. The three spirits had huddled into the room, and they were watching her curiously.

"Oh!" Arme exclaimed, looking up at them, "I'm going to take my war staff this time, not the lamp." Salamander and Undine nodded, the Sylph letting out a visible sigh. She looked at the pale green spirit regretfully.

"But... You three can come along if you want!" She amended, smiling at an excited gasp from the wind spirit.

"Now do you three want to get into the lamp? You've been out for hours, you're all probably pretty tired by now..." The elementals nodded, and with a tricoloured swirl they had disappeared into her lamp. The magician picked up the weapon, setting it into the bag that sat limply at the foot of her bed.

"Now let's see... What else do I need to bring?" She couldn't help the grin on her face as she placed Mahou Boushi on her bed, the Sidtri curling up to it as she kneeled down to look under the aforementioned piece of furniture.

"Huh? My alchemist's book? How did it get under there?" Shrugging, she brushed it off and set it on the bed next to her pot. Pausing, she stared at the weapon for only a moment before looking back at her travelling bag and wondering if there was room for both weapons inside.

"Going to use your pot to transport things? It's probably for the best, seeing as there's infinite space inside." Arme nodded.

"From what I've seen though, living things can't go inside..." She muttered as she threw her staff inside the pot, "And I don't want to chance putting the spirits in there, at the very least it'll be uncomfortable for them." The hat looked around.

"Perhaps ask the ninja-boy? He'll carry one for you if you ask." Arme frowned, placing her hands on her hips.

"He has a name, you know... And I know he **will**, but I don't want to need his help all the time! I'll..." She picked up the pot, spinning it around on the palm of her hand.

"Hm... It'll probably fit... I hope." Sighing, she placed it back down.

"Well, I'm going to go see if he's ready to go!" She told the hat, picking up her warstaff before she started to make her way down the stairs. _He obviously will be, but... _Her thoughts went silent as she entered the first floor, peeking her head into the kitchen. Both Amy and Jin were inside, the fighter leaning with his head against the table as he watched Amy cook.

"Amy? Have you seen Lass?" The dancer turned, humming questioningly.

"Lass? Hm... I think I saw him in the living room reading a book." She said as she stirred a pot of something on the stove, "You two are headed off to your mission soon, right? Can you stay a few minutes extra? Lunch is almost done!" Arme nodded.

"Oh! And how'd your training go?" Arme grinned, but said nothing. This grin transferred to Amy's face, and she went back to stirring her pot. The magician tip-toed her way to where the dancer had said Lass would be, and before long she found herself standing in the door of the living room. As suggested Lass was lying on the couch, a book sitting on his lap. He wasn't reading it, however; his eyes had shot over to her the moment she entered the room. Despite Arme's protests the dark assassin had cut his hair short once more, though long enough that it would have fallen to the nape of his neck had it not been splayed over the arm of the couch. The violet haired magician grinned, holding her war staff rather conspicuously behind her back as she approached. Lass raised an eyebrow, looking at her skeptically.

"Am I supposed to pretend I'm not seeing your war staff here?" He questioned, sitting up. Arme half-shrugged, swinging the staff in front of her.

"Not quite, but... Come with me!" Grabbing the thief's arm, she attempted to pull him off the couch. Lass complied, standing up and glancing at Arme.

"Where are we going? Our mission starts soon..." He said as Arme led him through the door to the training grounds. Elesis was already outside, and she waved at the two as the entered the grounds.

"Heya! What are you guys out here for? Aren't you headed to check out rumors about Thatanos?"

"We're staying until lunch!" Arme called in response, stopping in the middle of the grounds.

"We are?" Lass questioned, blinking.

"Amy wants us to." The magician replied shortly, "But that's not what we're out here!" Lass wasn't given any further time to question her; the violet haired girl swung her wand up and into the air.

"**Deep Impact!**" There was a second before the fiery rocks started thundering down on the area, and Arme laughed gleefully.

"I'm an official battle mage, Lass!" She called, turning around to look at the assassin. He was watching her with interest, a small smile on his face.

"So **that's **why I was excluded from your practice today." He noted with a small smile, "Congratulations." Arme nodded cheerfully.

"This means when we head to the village I can bring my war staff! Hm... I might want to stop by the weapons store to buy a new one, though... This training war staff isn't very good." The assassin paused when she said this, a grin coming to his face.

"I almost forgot, but I have something for you. Wait here, all right?" Arme tilted her head to the side.

"Have something for me? But you just found out-" Before she could finish her sentence the silver haired boy turned and raced back into the house leaving her to lean against one of the dummies as she waited for him to return. She didn't have to wait long; the window from the second floor was slid open and Arme wasn't surprised to see Lass jump out. He was holding something behind his back, though from the distance she couldn't tell what it was.

"Close your eyes!" He commanded as he approached. The violet magician complied after a moment, holding out her arms patiently. A second later a warm piece of fabric was dropped into them, and Arme struggled to keep her eyes closed.

"You can look now." Lass added, much to Arme's relief. She did so quickly, and gaped at the item in her hands.

"Lass, this is..." She paused, holding the item out to inspect it, "This is the battle mage's armour! You can't tell me you just went out to buy this- Why did you even have this?" She questioned incredulously, eyes aglow with happiness as she looked over the golden patterns on the armour. Lass looked to the side, face turning ever so slightly pink.

"I didn't just get it." He answered, averting the question. Arme blinked questioningly.

"Then when **did **you?" She prompted, folding the clothes back into her arms and glancing at them appreciatively. The dark assassin shrugged.

"Nah, it was sort of... It didn't make much sense..." Pulling a hand through his hair, Lass turned back to the house, "Shouldn't we go in and see if lunch is done?" Arme grabbed his arm before he could get too far, tugging on it gently.

"I wanna know now! Please?" The sapphire eyed boy sighed.

"I don't see how it's relevant..." He muttered, trying to pull away. His face remained pink, and Arme only felt more curious.

"It obviously is if you don't wanna tell me!" She insisted. There was silence for a moment before Lass responded.

"Well... It's not important... Just... You remember the first time we were in the store?" Arme nodded.

"Well, you were looking at it back then. And I went up to the front to return it to the store keeper, but when I got to the front... I have no idea what I was thinking." Arme's eyes widened at Lass' rather unexplanatory answer.

"You... You mean you've had this for **four months?**" She gasped. The assassin refused to meet her gaze, his cheeks getting more red by the second.

"Like I said, it didn't make any sense! I **knew **even then that you were probably like Elesis, Lire, and Amy, but..." A smile replaced Arme's shocked expression, and she wrapped her arms around Lass' neck to pull him into a hug. It took the assassin a moment to relax before he wrapped his arms around her waist, his head resting on her hair.

"You must have known not many mages ever make it to battle magician... That you believed in me that much in the beginning..." Her smile grew, "Thank you..." The two stood silently that way for a moment.

"We've been through a lot in the last month..." This was voiced rather quietly by Arme, and the assassin nodded his head in agreement.

After Lass had woken up he had been more than shocked to see Arme awake as well. The week that followed was predictably the roughest for the magician; coming to terms with never seeing her family again had been a slow process. It had also been bad for Lass; the thief had been caught between frustration between Arme for not listening to him, and himself for not forcing Arme to listen to him. This frustration was tided over by his relief that Arme wasn't gone; a relief that he had guiltily contained for a week before Elesis had lectured him into letting Arme know.

Overall though, it was quite clear that Ryan had had the worst past month. He had been forced to accept that Kaze'aze had broken the connection between worlds- another way of saying there was no way for Lire to ever return. This knowledge had hit the druid like a ton of bricks, and he had been avoiding the others as much as possible. Arme had decided to keep her knowledge of Lire's being sick to herself; there wasn't much it would have done aside from make Ryan even more upset.

The moment of reminisce would most likely have lasted longer had the doorbell not rang at that precise moment. With a sigh Arme released the thief, turning to the door. Over the previous month and after the replacement of the gate fans had been making their way to the door several times a day, often with gifts or just to see the Grand Chase. Arme had been extremely shocked to see how many miniature dolls of herself had arrived in the mail since they had left on their journey; it was no longer a shock to see miniature figures of the magician lining the shelves next to the others of the chase. The only reason they bothered opening the door was for fear of missing an important message; as the violet mages had been severely damaged several had needed to be passed around. Jin wasn't in the kitchen when they entered, and Arme could hear his voice from the front hall.

"Miss, really... Please, we can't just be letting people walk in here all the time!" There was a pause before a quiet voice mumbled something in response, and Arme averted her path from the back door, where she had been planning to return.

"We've already told the public that Ryan isn't accepting and visitors, and unless you're a courier for the Violet Mages I'm afraid Arme is busy as well. She has an important mission soon." Both Lass and Amy had paused as well, a frown coming onto their faces as they listened to the conversation.

"Listen, I'm really sorry... Is there anything you'd like me to tell them?" The quiet voice responded quickly, an urgent tone taking to it's voice.

"No! Saying that... that **isn't **funny! We're grateful you could take the time to come visit, but-" Arme made a dash for the main hall, catching sight of Jin's red hair.

"**Jin, don't close the door!**" She gasped, nearly pushing the shisa out of the doorway to view the person on the other side. There was silence for a moment as she stared, taking in hair of long pale blonde and eyes of a deep forest green.

"L... Lire?" She questioned, taking a deep breath as footsteps entered the hallway. The girl, staring back, nodded.

"**LIRE!**" Amy's voice rang out loudly, shock entering her voice. The blonde looked up to where the siren was and smiled, her grin growing even wider when she noticed Lass. Tears had begun forming in her eyes, and she stepped inside quietly. Jin appeared more than confused at the events; he looked back and forth between Lire and the others before shrugging.

"Lire, how did you...?" Arme questioned, staring at the seemingly elven girl inquisitively. Lire looked back at Arme, and to the magician's surprise she reached out to hug the shorter girl.

"Arme, thank you... So much..." Arme said nothing, feeling rather confused. When the green eyed girl released her she took a breath, looking around the area.

"Where's... Where's Ryan?" Jin raised his hand.

"I'm not really sure what's going on right now, but I'll go get him." Lire looked back at the shisa thankfully, then back to the others.

"I'll try to explain the best that I can, then... Arme, you know how the worlds are connected, right?" Arme nodded.

"Kaze'aze forced them together..." The archer nodded.

"Well... It worked sort of like this. When the worlds were connected it was because people were acting sort of like 'bridges' and connecting the two... You, me, Elesis and Amy. When we die on the other side or fade on this side, our bridges shatter. There's nothing connecting the two, and time will flow randomly unless the two are connected again, which means it was entirely luck that you were connected when you were. From what I gather time isn't relative in the two unless someone is bridging the gap... Twenty years could have passed in our world while only a day passed here." She paused, looking at the ground.

"Well, that's not really important now. What is is that even though **I **had no connection to this world, **you **still did. Arme... When you came to visit me, the moment you lost consciousness, I... I died. When I was lost on that side, I was holding onto you, and I guess my soul recognized the link to this world. I ended up using your connection like a bridge, and my body reformed back here. I... I have no idea what the chances of that happening were, but it did. Or... That's what my best guess at what happened is." She concluded. Arme could only stare, wide-eyed.

"But... It's been a month since Arme lost her connection. That means you've been here for a month, doesn't it?" Lass' voice cut in as he stepped in next to Arme. Lire seemed almost ashamed when he said this, and there was a moment before she continued.

"Yes... I was. When I woke up I was in the elven forest... Not all that surprising, seeing as that's where my connection first brought me. I stopped them from sending out any messages because I wanted to tell you all myself, but I... I just couldn't think of what to say. I didn't know what you would all think of me returning, or if you would even want me to return at all, but... I needed to see Ryan again. I couldn't just... Even so, it took me a month to gather the nerve to come here... I still don't know how to face him." Arme watched the girl sympathetically, and was surprised to feel arms wind around her shoulders. Lass rested his chin on her hair, his arms crossing over her chest and pulling her close.

"You didn't honestly believe he wouldn't want to see you... Lire, you should have known how he'd feel... How all of us would feel." Sighing, he regarded Lire, "But... At least you came back." The elf looked up at him, her green eyes large. A small smile fell onto her face; a knowing smile.

"You've changed a lot since I've last saw you. Before all of this you wouldn't have understood at all." Lass scoffed quietly.

"A year changes people... Four months can change a person even more than that." His arms tightened around Arme, and the magician blushed, "Though the one who's changed the most is probably Ryan. And I'm expecting you to make that change for the better, in the end." Lire nodded, eyes glancing up at the stairway.

"I'll do my best." Any further conversation was halted by the sound of footsteps pounding down the staircase; a head of orange hair soon rushed into view. There was a moment of silence among everyone as the two elves stared at each other, ended when Lire took a timid step towards the sentinel.

"**LIRE!**" Ryan was no more than a blur of orange as he nearly tackled Lire into a hug, holding the blonde tightly, "Jin wasn't being an ass! It really is you!" Lire let out a laugh, hugging him back just as firmly.

"Yeah..." She confirmed after a moment, tears beginning to fall heavily out of her eyes, "It is me." Arme, watching the pair, placed her hands over Lass'.

"Do we really have to go on that mission right now? I don't think I want to leave just yet." Lass let out a murmur of agreement.

"And as far as your guild knows, we're already gone." He added, and Arme could almost feel the grin in this statement, "You're our magician before you're their magician. You're **my **magician before you're their magician." Arme laughed quietly.

"I don't want to be their magician for a pretty long time to come... Right now, I think I'd be happy if things could just stay like this." The assassin nuzzled his nose against her hair lightly.

"You're always going to be my magician first." He responded, "Besides, you don't have to worry about the Grand Chase disbanding for a long time. Our journey isn't over."

* * *

Far away from the main house, where everyone still stood rejoicing in Lire's return, a storm spiralled endlessly. In the distant land of Xenia, near the depths of the lost continent that many feared to tread, sand was coiled about, mercilessly wearing down all it came in contact with. Tiles of what appeared to once have been a regal marble had been reduced to slabs of worthless stone, walls that had once stood proud diminished to crumbling slate and damaged paint. Cloth that may have once made up the curtains or otherwise in a magestic castle lay tattered and strewn about the desert-like area, littering the sandy ground like useless pieces of trash. Seemingly devoid of anything living, the cold, barren lands were simply a flurry of dark browns and golden yellows, cutting into what seemed to be the remains of a gallant kingdom. In the scene only one colour stood astray; a speck of cyan standing alone in the dead wasteland. Faded strands of blue hair were whipped about, sand painfully nicking the pale skin of a huddled up girl clinging a book to her chest. Crawling forward to press her back against a large wedge of cracking stone as a pathetic defense from the dangerous winds, heterochromic eyes of a deep sapphire and contrasting ruby peeked open ever so hesitantly, and the girl clutched the book tighter to protect it from the grains of sand.

"Wh... Where am I?"

The journey was far from over.

* * *

A/N: IT'S OVERRRRR ;-; I can't thank all of you who've been with me up to this point enough! You've all helped me through a story I don't think I could have finished otherwise! I've met so many people I'm grateful to, and had so many comments that made my day... I want you all to know how much it means to me that this story has gotten to be the most reviewed story in the Grand Chase archives! It's really amazing even reading and seeing Lass and his cherry pie everywhere... Always manages to make me smile!

I wanna extend a huge thanks to WillowWhip and Shokora, you guys deal with my complaining and procrastinating about this nearly every day xD;;

http:/ www. lassxarme. webs. com / - This site is for spreading the LassxArme love~! Please take a minute to check it out and sign the guestbook, many people have put hours of hard work into it~

... It's really over. o_o This is probably gonna get me pretty slowly xD;; Well, my plans are to put some summaries in my profile and see what gets the most votes for my next story, so stay tuned for that! For a while though, I'll probably just chill and write some oneshots/get some drawing done (seeing as I currently owe someone a picture of Lass in a nurse outfit :3 )

And as a small note on this ending... I know I set it up like there was a sequel, I'm sorry! OTL It's how I work... There is actually no sequel xD

Once again, I'm so grateful to all of you~ I could write a list here thanking all of you for what you've individually done, but that would up my word count by a few pages so I think I'll just not xD

This is the end of Into the Dark, thanks for reading~! Spread the LassxArme love~!  
-Utsuro


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